Laws and Regulations
by Morris Archeltum
Summary: You know, just once, I'd like to open my mouth, and not get myself into trouble. Now I've been recruited by the local police, got myself knee deep in a pokephilia case, and I have to take care of a morbidly depressed arcanine. what did I get myself into?
1. A Change in Routine

**So, I'm restarting this story. Don't act like it's that big of a deal because it's not, the first chapter wasn't all that good anyways. The thing is, when I wrote the first draft, it was a spur of the moment thing. I have no idea where it came from but a wave of inspiration just came over me and made me think of this. However, once it passed, I questioned where I was going to go with this, so after taking a step back and a deep breath, I'm restarting. I now have most of this story planned out, so it will be easier to write as well as to read.**

**So, let's get the boring stuff out of the way.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own pokémon, only my OC's**

**Warning: This story will contain various pairings human/human and pokemon/human, as well as a few lemons of the M/F variety, if it's not your thing, get out now.**

**I know I promised a few people there would be m/m and f/f in here, but, honestly, I'm just not comfortable writing it. I'm not against it, but when I write it, it just comes out wrong, and I refuse to post any work that I'm not proud of. To any yaoi or yuri fans, I apologize.**

**Now, without further ado, chapter one.**

…**what was that thing I usually say…oh yeah**

**ADALANTE!**

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><p>You know…I thought today would be a normal day. Not that other days are abnormal, it's just something I've come to expect by now, which I'll admit, gets a little boring.<p>

Lately I've been waiting for something exciting to happen. However, if getting slammed down onto the hood of a car while an overweight cop puts me in handcuffs is the only excitement I'm going to get, I'd gladly take normality.

So as I lied face down on the scorching hot patrol car in the middle of summer, I had to wonder why the hell I had opened my big mouth in the first place. It seemed I was always saying the wrong thing at the wrong time…even though I'm always right.

You see, I tend to over think things, and when I focus too much on what's going on in my head, I don't pay attention to what's coming out of my mouth, and, as usual, it got me into trouble today.

…but, maybe I'm starting in the wrong place. Shall we rewind a bit?

(That morning)

My alarm clock woke me up at four in the morning, blaring some random news station. An ungodly hour for most people, but I had gotten used to it by now.

I slammed my fist down on all the buttons at once, not knowing if it was the 'off' or the 'snooze' button that had silenced it, but I figured I'd find out in about five minutes.

I quickly shoved the covers off of me, walked to the bathroom, and took a quick look at myself in the mirror. My shaggy, light brown hair was jutting out in random areas and my emerald green eyes had some of the biggest bags under them I had ever seen. Despite my rather disheveled appearance, I just shrugged and stuck my head under the faucet to smooth down my brillo pad of a head.

I honestly didn't know why I bothered. It was just going to be hidden under the cap of my gas station uniform all day. And I know what you're thinking. 'Dude, you work at a gas station...that's pathetic'. But I'm not some high school drop out who couldn't get any other job. I work there by choice.

Why? Because working there four times a week, plus doing odd jobs around the neighborhood, is perfectly good enough for the life I want. And by odd jobs, I don't just mean doing random handy work. I guess you could call me a private investigator, but I don't do anything important like that.

Mostly I'm known as 'the guy that's good at figuring stuff out'. People have problems, I fix them, and it's as simple as that. Really, it's more like I'm selling them information. I notice things that normal people don't and it just comes in handy sometimes.

You'd be surprised what people will ask for help with, too. So far, it's ranged from a lost vulpix, to finding out if someone's girlfriend was cheating on them.

In any case, it may be a strange job, but it pays well.

I quickly combed my hair, not caring how incredibly weird it looked when it was slicked back, and headed back to my room. As I changed, my earlier question of "snooze or off?" was answered as the radio turned back on.

I got changed as the local news came on.

"_Lawrence Henderson, a troubled sixteen year old, was recently arrested for raping his umbreon. When asked, he commented "I did not rape her, she came onto me." Obviously, his defense did not hold up in court and he was sentenced to life imprisonment… In other news-"_

I slammed my hand down on the alarm clock again, this time making sure to hit the off button.

"Tch, idiots." I mumbled under my breath.

Really, do the cops have nothing better to do than to crack down on innocent pokephiles? Not that I'm into that kind of thing, but, come on, if someone wants to have a relationship with their umbreon, who are we to stop them?

Time and time again, they keep trying to pass it off as bestiality, but it's been proven that pokémon are sentient.

You know…sentient…as in, they have a mind of their own. It's like people ignore the fact that pokémon have thoughts and feelings and they just focus on the fur and tails.

Yeah, we're different, GET OVER IT!

Every time, people try to pass it off as rape or some other bullshit like it's taking advantage of a lesser minded species. I'll bet you anything, that most pokémon are ten times smarter then humans, and if people were raping them, and they didn't like it, they'd probably attack said person on the spot.

The only reason I'm against it is that it can make for some seriously fucked up children.

You see, humanoid pokémon and humans are compatible enough to have children together, but the whole interspecies thing rarely works out. Normally, the child ends up being a miscarriage. If not, it's born completely mutated. There are only some rare chances when a completely normal human or pokémon is created through this process, but the risk is too great.

That's my position, I'm sticking to it.

I put on my cap and my shoes, headed downstairs, and out the door. As I turned onto the sidewalk, I spotted the paper and bent down to pick it up.

"LOOK OUT!"

I barely had time to stand up before I was being tackled by a gigantic ball of orange fur. I hit the ground with a thud, but managed to avoid slamming my head against the concrete, so I missed any serious injury.

I opened my eyes to find myself staring up at an arcanine. I cocked an eyebrow questioningly. "Uh…hi?"

I picked myself off the sidewalk as a man with fiery red hair came into view. "I am so, so sorry, she evolved recently and she's still getting used to her size."

I scanned him over and then the arcanine. "How old is she, sixteen?"

The man raised an eyebrow "yeah…how'd you know that?"

"She's tiny." I stated bluntly, earning a snort from an annoyed canine. It was true, though. Where as most arcanine's easily towered over any human, this one was at around my height. Granted, I'm pretty tall, but it was still a noticeable difference. As usual, I wasn't paying attention to the words that were coming out of my mouth and began an explanation that wasn't really needed.

"She's smaller than a regular arcanine and growlithes can't evolve until they've matured enough. But why did you evolve her so soon, she'll never grow to full size, now."

"I kind of had to." He explained. "My apartment complex doesn't allow pokémon over a certain weight so I had to evolve her now so she wouldn't exceed that. Don't worry, I didn't force her to do anything she didn't want to do."

I looked to the arcanine for confirmation and she nodded. I scanned over the man again, as I have never seen him before. Like I said before, he had flaming red hair, but it was cut in a buzz cut that made him look completely ridiculous (However, that's just my opinion). He wore tattered clothing, as if he had been wearing the same thing for days now. They had numerous rips and tears in it like he was just attacked by something, but there was no evidence to suggest that. Finally reaching a conclusion, I asked him. "You work at the new daycare, don't you?"

He grinned. "Yep, how'd you guess?"

I picked my pair of blue-tinted sunglasses out of my pocket and slid them over my eyes as I began my explanation. "I've never seen you're face before, so you must have moved here recently, which suggests that you came here with the Goldenrod daycare workers when they decided to expand. Also, you have ripped clothing with at least six different kinds of fur on it, none of it being the orange fur from your arcanine, so you must work with pokémon. You're not a trainer because you don't have a belt full of pokeballs or a backpack, and I'm pretty sure if you worked at the pokémon center, you would be able to afford an apartment that doesn't have weight requirements…no offense. And you definitely don't work at the gym, because an arcanine is not a flying type, so, you work at a pokémon daycare."

He blinked in disbelief. "…geeze…that's awesome. Are you a detective or something?"

I pointed to the hat that clearly read "Gas n' Gulp" and shook my head. "Nah, I'm just a guy who overanalyzes."

"Well, I'm sorry again. Let me buy you a cup of coffee." He offered.

Normally, I don't accept things from strangers, but I was heading down that direction anyways and he seemed trustworthy enough, so who was I to decline? "Sure, my name is Jason Mercer by the way, call me Jace though." I said, extending my hand.

He gave me a firm handshake. "Allen, Allen Kirk. And this is Rori." He said referring to the large canine that had barreled into me not minutes ago.

She nuzzled my shoulder apologetically and I patted her head. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise." He stated as we started walking. "Not to pry or anything, but why are you working at a gas station? You could easily be a private investigator or something."

"No motivation to be anything else." I said with a smirk.

"Yeah, I know the feeling." He agreed. "I guess I kind of just lucked out. My uncle offered me a job at the new daycare and I love working with pokémon."

"Really? I'd be fine with just one or two, but I don't think I could have a bunch of them puling at me in every direction the entire day."

He shook his head. "No, that's just it. We aren't nearly as busy as the one in Goldenrod. Too many rookie trainers who are too attached to their starters. We usually don't get more then ten at a time, and considering there are three employees and one manager, it's not really all that hard."

I cocked an eyebrow. "Then…what's with the ripped clothes and the fur?"

He chuckled a bit. "A fellow employee convinced the pokémon that I was hiding food in my jacket."

I snickered as I imagined him getting chased around by a group of hungry pokémon. "Sucks to be you."

"Yep."

…

We continued walking and talking for a while until we reached the coffee shop and, after he bought me a cup of joe, we went our separate ways, him to the daycare and me towards the gas station. As I walked through the door, I noticed a teenage boy walking out from behind one of the shelves, walking in a pace that was just fast enough to make me a little suspicious.

Something caught my attention as he passed by and I grabbed his arm to stop him.

"Hey, let go man." He said in a threatening voice which only made me laugh.

"First of all, stop trying to sound tough, it doesn't suit you. Second of all, do you really want to go to juvie for a Butterfinger?"

He went wide eyed for a second but then tried to hide it. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh really?" I asked, already knowing that he was lying. "Well in that case, I have to ask, does looking at candy really turn you on that much, kid?"

He instinctively looked down and noticed the large bulge in his pocket. Realizing it was no use trying to escape, he groaned and took that candy bar out of his pocket, placing it in my hand. I wasted no time in whapping him over the head with it.

"Ouch, what the heck man."

"Next time, I'm having your ass hauled off to juvie."

"Stop threatening me with that juvie crap. I'm eighteen. If I get pinched, I'm doing big boy time."

"In that case, you should be even more scared, ever here of the term 'don't drop the soap'." I said, knowing that would get a reaction.

As expected, he gulped in an overly cartoony way that made it really hard not to start laughing. Doing my best to keep a straight face, I finally let him go. "Get out of here."

He ran out the sliding doors and didn't even look back. I shook my head as I turned to find my manager, Raul, chuckling behind the counter. "How do you do that?"

"He tried to hide a candy bar in skinny jeans. It's not that hard to figure out."

"Even so…" he trailed off.

I examined the broken butterfinger closely, finding that it had been smashed to pieces when I used it as a disciplinary tool. I held it up to show Raul. "Can I just eat this? No one's gonna buy it."

"Be my guest." He answered.

I nodded as I hopped behind the counter and took my place behind the cash register.

He leaned his elbow against the table. "Hey, did you here about that Henderson kid."

I nodded, but didn't say anything, trying to signal that I'd rather not talk about it. He didn't pick up on it.

"I heard that his Dad turned him in. What kind of parent would do that to their kid?"

I shrugged. "The report said that he was troubled, maybe there was some kind of argument between them. Or, maybe his dad is just an asshole."

He snorted. "It must have been pretty bad then, I could never imagine turning my son into the police, especially for something as stupid as pokephilia."

"I know," I said with an eye roll, "It's like the cops have nothing better to do then to separate perfectly happy couples. Even if they are a tad…eccentric."

"Yeah," He responded. "Well, I gotta go do some paperwork crap, I'll see you later."

"See ya." I responded, beginning my incredibly boring shift of cash register duty.

(six hours later)

I was walking home from a particularly boring day at work, fully ready to go home and plop into bed. However, a growl in my stomach urged me to find nourishment. Making a split second decision, I turned onto a path that I knew would take me to a local Home Run Inn. I hadn't had pizza in a while and suddenly found myself craving it.

Still, other than that, everything was turning out to be a relatively normal day. But That all changed as I began approaching a building surrounded by police cars, as well as a huge crowd of people. I quickly recognized the building as the daycare center, but still didn't think much of it. Whatever it was, it was none of my business.

At least, that's what I thought at first, but as the door to the establishment opened, I saw three machokes dragging a pokémon out using odd little contraptions that restrained its movement. To my surprise, I knew the pokémon.

It was Rori. Her eyes were flooded with tears and she was trying to use her claws to pull back against the three fighting types. It was no use, of course, as they easily overpowered her. She spotted me in the crowd and looked at me with pleading eyes, begging me for help.

For once, I didn't think about what I was doing, pushed past the crowd, and crossed the police line onto the crime scene. I knew very well that the fighting pokémon that police officers are issued aren't allowed to hurt civilians, so I wasn't going to get hurt.

I approached them and slipped by with ease, as they weren't really paying attention. I grabbed the metal coil that had been place around her muzzle and tried to yank it off, but didn't get too far before one of the machokes was trying to yank _me_ off.

"Hey, back off, she's with me!" I tried to explain.

They looked at each other, shrugged, and let go. I swear, fighting types are so gullible some times. They returned inside, probably to receive further instruction, so I did my best to get the metal coils off of Rori.

After I got the one around her neck off, she buried her face into my chest and began sobbing. I was a little uncomfortable based on the fact that I barely knew her, but lazily wrapped my arm around her and stroked her mane, trying to calm her down.

"Hey, it's alright…where's Allen? Does he know about this?"

She only began to cry harder at that. Squirming from my already loose hold, she gently took my hand in her jaws and tugged me to come inside. Now, in my experience, it's best not to get involved with these kinds of things, but I was probably already going to be in deep shit for interfering with police business, so I figured that it wouldn't hurt my circumstances.

I followed her inside, and nearly hurled at the gruesome scene in front of me.

There was blood…a shit load of blood, and it was splattered all over the lobby. A pair of cops barely even noticed me as they wheeled some poor guy in a rubber bag past me. There were scorch marks on the tile floor in random places and, if I'm not mistaken, one of them left a vague outline of someone's foot.

It didn't take long for me to piece things together. Someone was killed by a pokémon and they thought it was Rori. At the same time, that was impossible. With all the blood splattered everywhere, some of it would have had to get on her, and her coat was entirely clean aside from a bit of dirt.

Amongst the people inside, were the three machoke, two employees huddled in a corner, and a couple of policemen who were questioning the manager. Against my better judgment, I walked up to them and got their attention the only way I knew how. "Hey, shitheads!"

The overweight one turned in my direction. "Who the hell are you? This is a crime scene, you're not allowed in here." He turned to one of the machoke from earlier. "And I thought I told you to put the arcanine in the truck. It should be half way to the clinic by now."

I shuddered a bit, knowing very well 'clinic' meant pound, and if they were taking her there, she probably wasn't coming back out. "As soon as you start doing your job, then I'll leave. Under what grounds are you putting this arcanine to death?"

He rolled his eyes. "If it'll get you off my back, fine. We have a witness stating he saw it rip apart her owner, then light him on fire, plus, we got a body full of third degree burns that could have only been caused by a powerful fire attack. There's your evidence, now get the hell out."

My eyes widened. It was Allen…the dead body was Allen. The guy who had, not seven hours ago, bought me a cup of coffee. That must be why Rori was so upset.

I glanced at the owner, suspecting that he was the witness the fat cop had referred to. He was twitching hysterically and kept looking back and forth as if he was nervous about something. He was hiding something, that's for sure.

A thought came to my mind. "Let me see the body."

Fat cop blinked in disbelief. "Excuse me?"

I didn't wait for an answer, but instead burst out the door. The two cops wheeling the stretcher were just loading it into the ambulance. I practically tackled the one on the end, sending him sprawling to the ground and before the other one had time to react, I yanked down the zipper of the bag.

I only had a split second before I was being yanked away by fat cop, but it was all I needed. The body, as expected, was horribly burnt, but I could at least make out a few bite marks…marks that were way too narrow to fit the jaws of an arcanine, as well as a random puncture wound off to the side.

I grunted in pain as fat cop slammed me down on the hood of his car, but managed to blurt out my conclusion. "It was a houndoom!"

"Shut up! You're under arrest for trespassing and interfering with an official police investigation. You have the right to remain silent."

"God damn it! Listen to me, it was a houndoom, the owner is lying!" I cried out in vain as fat cop continued to read me my rights and slap a pair of handcuffs on me.

I was almost shoved into the back seat of his car when someone else spoke up.

"Officer!" Came the voice of a female employee with long, blonde hair. He shoved me in the backseat before responding. "Stay calm ma'am, everything is under control."

She dismissed his comment and continued. "…the manager…he owns a houndoom."

He blinked in disbelief before turning and giving me a questioning look. I responded by giving him a smug grin.

He looked around at his fellow officers for a second, as if he didn't know what to do, but he regained his composure. "Alright," he said, pointing to a random cop, "You, go back inside and see if you can find that houndoom, Smith, take Mr. Kirk into custody, Johnson, take this kid to the station, I want to have a chat with him when this is all done."

My grin quickly faded. "You have got to be kidding me."

He responded by slamming the door in my face and some other cop got in the driver's seat.

Unbelievable, I solve a case, save an innocent life…and get arrested for it.

As we pulled away from the curb and my handcuffs began to chafe, I couldn't help but think one thing.

…what the hell have I gotten myself into?

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><p><strong>Ok, so, new opening. Same story, same character, Different background. So tell me what you think. Anything constructive or complimentary is welcome.<strong>


	2. False Accusations

**Right, chapter two…I have honestly, nothing to say right now.**

**Anyhow…ADALANTE!**

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><p>I sat at the table in an interrogation room of the Violet City Police Department, tapping my fingers impatiently.<p>

Two hours…they kept me here for two hours without so much as asking me a question. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if no one was on the other side of that one way mirror.

Why were they keeping me here, anyways? I know I was interfering and everything, but if I hadn't, they would have gotten the wrong guy…er…dog. If anything, I should be getting commended, not arrested.

Finally, the door opened and a familiar overweight jackass stepped inside. I was tempted to start calling him out, but figured that would only hinder me, so I bit down a long list of weight related insults, and leaned back in my chair.

He sat down across from me and tried to give me an intimidating glare which, in all honesty, was amateurish and didn't do anything but make me want to laugh.

"Do you know why you're here?" he asked in his best tough guy voice.

I blinked. "Before I answer that, I have to ask, are you trying to be intimidating?"

He cocked an eyebrow, but didn't say anything, so I took his silence as a yes.

"I won a staring match with a lucario once, so glaring isn't going to do you much good…and no, I have no fucking clue why I'm here."

His eyes narrowed, "Number one, you're an obnoxious asshole, number two, you're the lead suspect."

That got my attention. "Lead suspect…for the case that I _helped you solve_?" I asked, trying to show him just how ridiculous he was sounding. However, it seems that he completely ignored my question.

"How'd you know it was a houndoom?"

"Excuse me?"

"Don't play dumb with me. There was no way you could have known the species of the pokémon that killed that kid unless you were there when it happened."

I blinked in disbelief yet again at his stupidity. "You _saw _me look at the body."

"I saw you glance at it for less than two seconds, not enough time to make that kind of assessment."

"Yeah, maybe for you." I said with an eye roll. "Have you done any research on this theory of yours? Because I'm pretty sure I've indirectly helped solve cases for this department in the past."

He nodded. "Yeah, I've done my research. For instance, I know that you, as well as a close family member, have a criminal record."

My eye twitched a bit. "My mother has nothing to do with this, and…so I trenched someone's yard when I was a teenager, I hardly think that contributes to a murder case."

"You'd be surprised." fat cop said with a grin. "Now, can you give me a plausible explanation of how you knew that the houndoom was the killer?"

"Well…there is that little fact that…I SAW THE DAMN BODY!"

"Please, forensics examined that body for an hour and could barely tell the difference between those two canines, how could you tell that by looking at it for half a second?"

I figured it was pointless to argue with him, so instead I took a deep breath and scanned him over for a second; making a quick analysis of him the same way I had done on Allan earlier. "You just recently got divorced from your wife, most likely because she caught you cheating on her with a much younger woman. Dating said woman has sent you into midlife crisis so you've been trying to lose weight lately as well as trying to learn to play guitar as way to impress her. You broke you're nose when you were three, give or take a year, and you're currently having construction done on you're house which caused the power to go out this morning…any more questions?"

I noticed that his jaw had dropped right around the time I mentioned him playing guitar, so I think that I had proved my point.

He closed his mouth and crossed his arms as he leaned back in his seat. "Ok…I'll bite…how the hell did you know that?"

"You have a white circle on you're ring finger that's starting to fade so you must have stopped wearing your wedding ring about a month ago. You also have a hot pink lipstick smear on your collar, and no girl your age _ever_ wears that color. I'm also fairly certain this was the cause of you're divorce because I don't think anyone would be able to bounce back that quickly unless the affair was what caused it in the first place. The watch you're wearing is brand new and it doubles as a pedometer, so you've obviously been trying to work out lately…emphasis on trying." I said, desperate to slip at least one fat joke in there, but continued before he had a chance to comment on it.

"You have calluses and blisters on the tips of your fingers which suggests that you've just started playing a string instrument and the only instrument anyone would be trying to learn at you're age in life is a guitar because it makes them feel younger and cooler than they really are. You're plastic surgeon gave you a terminus paralateral scar after breaking you're nose, which is only given to children under the age of six. You have white dust on your shirt, which seems to be from some kind of dry wall, and the stubble on your face is only half gone which means you're electric razor suddenly stopped working this morning."

We stared at each other in silence for a bit longer before I chose to add one more thing. "If you need any more evidence that I was not involved, you can check with my manager at the gas and gulp, which you really should have done in the first place before coming in here and having me humiliate you in front of your colleagues who are no doubt trying not to laugh their asses off behind that mirror over there."

He furrowed his eyebrows, obviously pissed at me, but I couldn't care less. Why should I when he nearly had me arrested? After his face turned a very bright shade of red (Whether from anger or embarrassment, I'm not really sure), I felt it was the right time to ask. "Am I free to go now, officer?"

* * *

><p>I walked out the door to the police station with a smug grin on my face. Not only had I beaten a cop at his own game, but I completely humiliated him. That two hour wait was definitely worth it.<p>

I was just about to step into the parking lot when I heard someone calling after me. "Hey, Jace!"

I turned to see a familiar green haired girl rushing out of the station. Why her family kept dying their hair that color, I'll never know, but she was friendly face, so I lightened up a bit. "Evening, Officer Jenny."

She frowned a bit as she caught up. "Would you drop the officer thing, we've known each other since preschool and when you call me Officer Jenny, you make me feel like my mother."

I chuckled a bit. "Sorry Jen. Just a reflex."

I may not like cops, but Jen and her family were exceptions. Like she said, we've been friends since we were kids. Also, they actually cared about helping people, a factor which most officers seemed to lack these days. Hell, her mother even helped me out that one time I trenched my neighbor's yard.

And by 'helped out' I mean she somehow found a way to keep my parents out of the loop. Don't ask me how, but she found a way.

"Need something, Jen?" I asked.

She shifted uncomfortably for a second, but whatever was bothering her was soon shrugged off. "I want to say thanks. Jenkins needed to be put in his place for once."

I chuckled a bit, assuming she was talking about fat cop. "No problem, he was pissing me off anyways." I turned to leave, assuming that was it, but she grabbed my arm to hold me in place.

"I'm sorry, there's on more thing…about that arcanine…" She trailed off assuming I would know what she meant, however, I didn't.

"What about Rori?" I asked, raising my eyebrow in curiosity.

"Well, she's gone into depression."

"Her partner just got flayed alive. I'd be surprised if she didn't. Don't worry about her, she just needs some time, maybe some comfort. Leave her with one of Allan's friends, she'll come around eventually." I tried to leave again, but her hand tightened into a death grip.

"There in lies the problem, Jace. He just moved here, the only relationship he established was with his uncle, who is the REAL lead suspect in this murder. We can't leave her with the people from the daycare until we have them all checked out, and you seem to be the only other person who was friends with him."

I groaned, knowing very well where this was going. "I met him this morning, we weren't exactly that close."

"Even so, that doesn't change the fact that you're the best person to take her in."

"I don't have any place to put her."

"Bullshit," She said, finally releasing me and crossing her arms, "I've been in your house before, you have a perfectly good guest room and it's just for a few days. Hell, I'll even pay for expenses if that's what you're worried about."

I shook my head. "Not what I'm worried about. I just don't want her becoming attached. I can't keep her."

She raised an eyebrow. "…And why not?"

"Because I don't want to." I stated bluntly.

She rolled her eyes. "Look, I know you're not huge on the whole pokémon thing. I'm not sure _why_, but I accept it. You may not see it, but you're her only friend in this, especially after you saved her life."

I sighed, knowing she was right, but not wanting to admit it. Anyone who knows me will tell you I have no problem with pokémon…and I don't.

Quite the contrary, I was raised to believe that humans and pokémon are equals. But there in lies the problem. If I start housing a pokémon, I don't feel like I have a pet, I feel like I have a slave. The whole thing just makes me extremely uncomfortable.

Not to mention that pokémon are a tad…affectionate. They like close contact, hugging, cuddling, all that jazz, and I have HUGE personal space issues. You may think I'm crazy, but look at it from my perspective. If a human came up to you, wrapped their arms around you, and started rubbing his or her cheek against yours, you would feel pretty damn awkward right?…unless you're a perv like that.

Regardless of that, I agreed and followed my childhood friend back into a place I had fully intended to never set foot in again, earning me an annoyed glare from fat cop…er…Jenkins.

I brushed it off as she led me into a room in the back where I found Rori curled up in a corner. She perked up a bit when I came in the room, but I could see that her eyes were bloodshot from crying. She sat up as I approached her and wasted no time in burying her muzzle into the crook of my neck.

I tensed up a bit, feeling extremely uncomfortable, but she didn't seem to notice. I awkwardly brought a hand up to her mane in an act to comfort her further, but she pulled away as I was raising my hand, making me feel even more awkward than I already was.

"Er...right…how you feeling?" I asked, really not knowing how to start this kind of conversation.

She furrowed her eyebrows and I'm not exactly sure what she meant, but I think the loose translation was "…really?"

"Right, stupid question. Sorry. Listen…um…under the…circumstances…I think you need a place to stay, right?"

She dropped her gaze to the floor and gave a slight nod, making me feel a little bad. Why is it whenever I try to do something nice, I make things worse? So far my attempt to be a comforting friend wasn't going so well. So, instead, I just decided to go with being my blunt and honest self.

"Look, I'm sorry, I'm not good with words, so I'm just going to jump straight to the point. Would you feel comfortable staying at my house until everything gets figured out?"

He ears pricked up as she lifted her head and looked into my eyes, like she was trying to figure out if I was lying or not. Then, without warning, I was tackled to the ground in a canine version of an attack hug.

Before I had any chance to throw up a defense, my face was being covered in slobber as she licked my face repeatedly.

"GAH, OK, OK, I GET IT! YOU CAN GET OFF NOW!"

She let up a bit, but instead nuzzled her face against my cheek as her next way of saying thank you, which helped dry off my face a bit, but still made me feel oh so uncomfortable.

I let it continue, thinking it wouldn't be polite to shove her away, but I did have to pat her head a few times to get her to stop, as it was going on much too long. I stood up to see Jen doing her best to hold back a giggle, but failing completely.

I said nothing, but rolled my eyes as I gestured for the oversized canine to follow me.

She smiled at me as if nothing had happened. "See ya, Jace."

"See ya, Jen." I said, not even looking at her, which may seem a bit asshole-ish, but I really couldn't care less after she kind of screwed me over.

…well…ok…she didn't really screw me over…more like…I minor inconvenience. I give it about three days, a week at the most before this case is closed and she'll be out of my hair. If not, I'll just come back here, talk to Jen, and get her to put Rori up for adoption or something.

The walk home was somewhat awkward. Rori was slowly slipping back into that depressed demeanor that she was in back at the police station and I felt way to uncomfortable to do anything more than put a hand on her back and run my fingers through her fur.

Maybe that was for the best though, as it did seem to brighten her up a bit and I figured trying to comfort her in any other way would just end as bad as it did back at the station.

So I continued to do so until we reached home, at which point, I had realized that I _still_ haven't eaten anything. Rori must have been hungry too, because the moment I had thought about food, I heard her stomach growl.

I glanced in her direction. "You hungry too?"

She shook her head no, but her stomach growled again, telling me otherwise.

I smirked. "Oh really? I highly doubt that. Listen, it's no trouble at all, I've got some burgers in the fridge and they don't take that long to cook."

I know burgers aren't what you would normally feed a pokémon, but I didn't exactly have any berries or poke chow and I figured they hunt for meat in the wild anyways, so, why not?

She hesitated for a second but agreed in the end.

Honestly, it felt a little weird grilling burgers at ten O'clock at night, and I definitely got some odd glances from the neighbors when they saw me standing outside cooking while an arcanine they'd never seen before sat sobbing on the edge of the porch.

However, I was used to awkward glances. It's the curse that comes with my 'sparkling personality'. So I was easily able to shrug them off.

I like my burgers pretty raw, so it wasn't long before it was time to eat. I didn't even bother with buns because…well…I didn't really have any. Besides, at this late at night, I was really more concerned about getting some food in my body then adding any toppings.

As I figured, Rori ate most of them. She ate three by the time I had finished my one. I'm just lucky she was minuscule compared to a fully grown arcanine, otherwise that never would have been enough.

I finished off my meat patty with a belch, which incidentally got an amused snort out of Rori. "What, I'm not allowed to burp in the privacy of my own home."

She rolled her eyes with an added smirk and head shake. I recognized that look anywhere. It was the look Jen gave me almost every time we meet up. I wasn't sure of the exact translation, but in past experience it meant something like 'you're an idiot'.

Whatever the comment was, I ignored it as a huge yawn snuck up on me. "Alright…I think it's more or less time for bed, how about you?"

She gave a short nod as I stood up and I gestured for her to follow me. Leading her upstairs, I showed her to the guest bedroom. "Ok, As long as you're staying here, you can sleep here. It's queen-sized so I'm sure it's big enough. If you need anything I'll be right down the hall, ok?"

She seemed to be a bit worried about something, but nodded anyways. Normally I would press on this type of subject, but I was too tired to care at the moment. If it was really all that important, she would tell me.

I left the door to her room open due to the fact that she didn't have thumbs, or even hand for that matter, to open the knob. I closed my door, leaving a crack open in case she needed something and changed into a pair of sweat pants and a loose t-shirt.

I shut the lights off and sprawled out over my bed, not even bothering with the covers. I began to thinking over the day's events as I slowly drifted off into a peaceful sleep, but just as I was about to fall asleep, I heard a whimper.

Not one coming from Rori's room, one coming right next to me. I half opened an eyelid to see the canine looming over my bed with a nervous look in her eyes.

I propped myself up on my elbow. "Hey, need something?"

She looked at me for a few seconds but then averted her gaze.

"Well, you didn't come in here for nothing." I pressed further

She glanced at me for a split second, but then resumed her staring match with the floor.

Giving a deep sigh, I sat up and combed my fingers through her mane. "Listen, you don't have to be nervous or scared about anything. Just tell me what you need."

She looked me in the eyes, giving me another whimper and then pawed at the side of the bed.

I thought for a few seconds and then it clicked. I really hoped she was going to say no to this, but… "Do you…want to sleep here?"

She didn't answer, but instead hopped up onto the bed and curled up beside me.

…_damn…I ain't sleeping at all tonight._

I laid my head back onto my pillow and she proceeded to snuggle up next to me making me feel, possibly, the most awkward I've ever felt in my life. I knew she was probably waiting for me to reciprocate and cuddle her back, but my body just went completely tense and I couldn't move.

Screw what I said earlier about close contact feeling awkward, I completely and utterly hated it. Especially with people like Rori whom I hardly even know. Call me insane, I just like my space. Still, the guilt I felt when I heard her start to cry again snapped me out of my selfish space issues.

I closed my eyes, convinced myself that she was a gigantic fluffy pillow and wrapped an arm around her. Almost immediately, the sobs stopped and a few moments later, I heard a content sigh, causing me to relax a bit.

…actually…it wasn't that bad if I didn't think about it, which normally, for me, is impossible, but as tired as I was, I assumed my brain was finding any excuse at all to try and put my body to rest.

So, with my brain in a comatose like state, I pulled her even closer as she curled up into my chest as best she could, and soon after, I was asleep.

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><p><strong>Ok, so, questions, suggestions, problems, solutions…anything at all for the good of the cause? Seriously anything I need to know, whether it be trivial or humungous in proportion, I want to hear about it.<strong>

**Anyways, until next time, see you later**

**-Morris**


	3. Another Odd Job

**Wow…after my long break from this story, I only have one thing to say.**

…**you guys are awesome. Seriously, if you didn't know that already, you guys are great. Fourteen reviews for one chapter? And all of which were complements? You have no idea how much of an ego boost that gave me. So, to all my awesome readers, I hope you enjoy the new chapter.**

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><p>I sat behind the counter at the Gas n' Gulp with my head down next to the register. While normally I'm wide awake looking for shoplifters, I could not for the life of me keep my eyes open. I've seemed to have developed a case of insomnia over the weekend now that I was now sharing my bed.<p>

It wasn't the fact that I had to share it, so much as the fact that I had to share it with Rori. Nothing against her, in fact, we've been getting along quite well these past few days…you know…when she's not crying her eyes out.

That, in fact, is the reason I'm not sleeping well. The minute I fall asleep, she starts sobbing or has a nightmare or something else that requires me to awkwardly comfort her. Then, as if that wasn't enough, whenever I actually _do_ fall asleep I start having these really weird dreams. Seriously, I don't know if it's something I've been eating or just the sleep deprivation causing my brain to go haywire, but I've been having this one recurring dream.

In the dream, I'm sitting on a couch with-

"Hey Jace."

-in my lap, and all of the sudden she starts-

"Jace?"

-my-

"JAAAaaace?"

-And before I know it, we're-

"Jace!" I hear a woman scream as she slams her fist down next to my head. Despite her outburst, I still only barely lift my head to greet a green haired officer carrying a vulpix.

"Oh, hey Jen, what's up?" I ask indifferently. Not to be rude, but I was really just waiting for her to go away so I could get back to sleep.

"Taking Vixie here to a breeding center. It's her mating season. But I think I should be the one asking you that. You look like hell, what happened to you?"

I groaned. I looked out the window "A six foot ten ball of fur that should be severely dehydrated with all the crying she's been doing."

She quirked an eyebrow. "That bad?"

I shook my head. "Don't get me wrong. Rori is possibly the sweetest girl I've ever met in my life, but when her mind starts to wander she starts thinking about Allen."

"I'm sorry." She said, being completely sincere. "I wish I could bring better news, but the case is still ongoing."

I finally sat up straight. "What's the big hold up? I thought forensics confirmed it was the houndoom."

"Well, they did. What we're trying to figure out is whether it was a murder or a pokémon attack."

I crossed my arms as I pondered the situation. I knew the houndoom was never found, which just made this entire thing more complicated. Tame pokémon don't just randomly attack people. Either they're ordered to by their partner or they go insane and go on a bloody rampage. If they go crazy, they normally head for the wild. Houndoom usually live deep in the forest so the chances that he made it from the daycare to the nearest woods without meeting anyone else are slim to none. Still, a good lawyer will be able to convince a jury otherwise and since people are innocent until proven guilty, the owner can make up any lie he wants to weasel his way out of conviction.

"So," I stated without thinking about what I was saying, "we either need to find the houndoom and prove that it isn't crazy, or find a motive for why the owner would want his nephew dead."

"We? What do you mean we?" Jen asked with a grin.

Oh God, I've stumbled into a trap, backpedal as soon as possible!

"It was a slip of the tongue Jen, nothing more."

"Oh, come on."

"No. I've told you a hundred times, I have no interest in becoming a police officer." I told her. As I've said before, I've solved quite a few cases for the department before. All indirectly of course. Occasionally I get someone asking me to look into something that the police are already looking into, and more often than not, I solve it faster than them. What can I say, I kind of like pissing off cops, especially ones who don't do their job right. However, ever since then. Jen has been determined to have me join the force.

She crossed her arms and huffed. "You know, you really are a stubborn bastard. It's better than being an unofficial P.I. and I know that a cop salary isn't the best, but it's gotta be better than working at this dump."

"You _do _realize Raul is right back there, right?"

As soon as I said that, my manger popped out from behind an aisle. "Doesn't matter, dude. I _know_ this place is a dump.

"…thanks, Raul. No really, that seriously helps."

"Hey, I may be your boss, but I'm your friend first. And while I work here because I have nowhere else to go, you work here by choice, which is pathetic. You should take the damn job and-"

"Don't you have some paperwork to do or something?" I interrupted, really not in the mood for being hammered like this.

"Nah," he shook his head as began heading to his office in the back. "In fact, we're closing up early today. I'm gonna go play some whack-fuck."

I snorted at that despite the previous course of conversation, and Jen just looked at him like he was crazy. "What the hell is whack-fuck?"

"He means 'golf'." I explained as I hopped out from behind the counter.

"Why does he call 'golf', 'whack-fuck'?"

Instead of answering, I hunched over as if I was holding a golf club and swung it like I was hitting a golf ball. "Whack." I proceeded my charade by looking for where the imaginary golf ball went. "FUCK!" I screamed stomping on the ground.

"Hey," Raul said, coming out of his office, "that's my line."

He tossed me the keys. "Lock up, would you? I'm already running late."

I nodded and went to the back entrance to lock it. Jenny was persistent, though. "Look, can you at least think about it. Jenkins would have closed that case without a second thought if you hadn't come along when you did. We could use you."

I shook my head as I motioned for her to leave the shop with me. "I'll think it over, but no promises. I just don't like cops…present company excluded, of course." I added as I saw her frown at my comment.

"Why?"

I blinked. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me." She continued, not giving up, "that's what you always say, and frankly, I can't see why. You know, seeing as how you end up helping us a lot."

I smirked. "Oh please, I'm not helping them, I just like showing them up at their own job."

She stared at me for a few seconds before sighing. "I swear, I will never understand you."

"Good," I said with a grin as I locked the door. "It keeps you on your toes and in your profession it's a good thing."

"Ugh…you know what, I have to get going, but please just think about it." She said, before lifting her vulpix up to her shoulder and walking away.

"No promises." I called after her.

I locked the door behind me and started looking around for Rori. I've kind of just been letting her run around outside of the gas station these past few days. She can defend herself if she gets into any trouble and I know she's smart enough to not start anything herself. Plus…people really just love pokémon for some reason. I honestly don't get what the big deal is, but people, granted mostly small children, have been coming up to me non-stop and asking if they can play with my pokémon.

Of course, if it keeps her happy, I'm all for it. She really does love people, another trait of hers I don't really understand. Not to be rude, but frankly, most people are idiots. Then again, that's probably just me talking. People tell me I can be a bit of an asshole sometimes…of course, what do they know…they're idiots.

I quickly spotted her sitting next to an older man at a bus stop, which I didn't think much of until I got closer. They were…talking. And I don't mean like he was talking and she was just nodding or shaking her head. I mean they were having a full on conversation.

"Nine arcanine."

"I see…well…have you actually told him yet?"

"Arc arcanine arc."

"Well how do you know if you don't ask?"

This time she gave a whimper and the man responded by patting her on the head. "Don't worry little lady, I'm sure it'll all work out."

I cleared my throat, letting them know I was listening and the man peered over his shoulder with a smile. "Ah, you must be Jason." He stood up and I finally got a good look at him. He had short gray hair and a bushy mustache that matched, but it wasn't like your regular, white, old man hair. Instead it was shiny silver, leading me to believe he was in his late fifties, early sixties instead of eighties and nineties. His posture was perfect, yet he still carried a cane, an inconsistency that honestly, baffled me to no end. Why would you carry a cane if you had no real use for it? In fact, he seemed to be in very good shape for an older man. All of that topped off with a pair of piercing grey eyes made for a rather intimidating figure…that is, he would be if he wasn't grinning like an idiot.

"Actually, I go by Jace." I said absentmindedly. "I'm sorry, but were you just…talking to her."

"But of course." He said with a smile.

"And you…understood her?"

He frowned at that. "I don't see what's so difficult to understand about this, we were just having a normal conversation. I figured someone with your views would be perfectly able to accept this."

I crossed my arms and quirked an eyebrow. "Really? And just how much would you know about my beliefs?"

"Enough to know that you treat Rori here with the same respect as you would give any human being. In fact, I'm surprised you haven't had a conversation with her yourself."

"Right…well…nice talking to you. Rori, let's go." I say, trying to get away from him before this conversation got any weirder, but he grabbed my shoulder as I passed by.

"You think I'm a senile old man, don't you boy."

I nodded. "Very perceptive."

He chuckled. "Understandable, however, this senile old man has a job for you."

I raised an eyebrow at that. "What kind of job?"

"Oh, just your normal type of odd job. I'm new in town and I hear you're the one who can get things done."

I crossed my arms over my chest. "I have a certain set of skills, yes."

He nodded and began stroking his chin as if he had a beard. "Indeed, and I understand that you don't mind interfering with police business."

Granted, a little red flag should have immediately gone up then and there, but you know what, I'd be a hypocrite if I told him otherwise. "It depends on whether or not it gets me arrested."

He chuckled a bit. "Ah yes, you wouldn't want to spend another two hours in an interrogation room, now would you?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Ok, you've asked me a bunch of questions, now it's my turn. How the hell do you know so much about me? Are you a stalker or something?"

He gave a hardy laugh as if he was amused by the question. "Hardly, my boy, I just like to do my research before trusting someone with such an important job."

"Oh yeah, and what did you find out about me?"

"Well, you grew up with your mother and father right here in violet city. Your father passed away when you were eight, which supposedly led to your rebellious teenager years during which you did countless acts of pointless vandalism, but were only caught twice. Although you're very smart you hated school, so you ended up repeating both tenth and eleventh grade. You never went to college and began working at a gas station due to lack of motivation."

I nodded, taking that all in. "Ok…big deal, I had a blog back in high school, all you have to do to figure all that out is look through the archives."

"Oh, my dear boy, I'm in no way finished. I am aware of your little website, and I must say it was most informative, however, my job requires me to be much more thorough than that. Such as, you were raised by your mother to treat everyone equally, no matter what species. You are often very discourteous to many people, except for a ser few, but even though you're not exactly a pleasant person, you still always try to do the right thing. The man most people believe to be your father is actually your step-father and you never found this out until you were twelve. You dated that young green haired friend of yours for a short time before she broke up with you and you've never quite gotten over your feelings for her. To top it all off, when you were 17, you're mother was arrested for-

"Enough!" I yelled, starting to get irritated by him spewing out my personal life to every random passerby. "How the hell do you know all of this stuff?"

"It's very simple. I, like you, am good at noticing things that other people don't, and I've been keeping an eye on you for quite some time now."

"…what was that about not being a stalker?" I asked accusingly.

"Stalking implies that I'm following you due to some sick fetish. This is strictly business and after much deliberation, I've determined you're just the man for the job."

I clenched my fists in irritation. I've only known this guy for five minutes and already he's on my shit list. Yet, at the exact same time, I couldn't just walk away. My curiosity was getting the better of me. Why would this guy go through so much trouble if he didn't have something important for me to do? So against my better judgment, I continued the conversation.

"Alright, fine. What did you have in mind?"

"Well, here's the catch." he explained. "My employers, who shall remain nameless, are requiring me to test you first. Just to see if they can trust you. I know you are familiar with the murder case involving the daycare, yes?"

The man's question elicited a small whimper from Rori and I began stroking her back to keep her calm. "Yeah, what about it?"

"I understand that the houndoom from the case has yet to be found. I also assume you know by now that it is completely in innocent in the matter, however, the police department doesn't much care about whether or not it was this pokemon's fault. Whether it truly has gone crazy or it was forced to kill this man by his owner, it's heading straight for the clinic and they will put it to death." At this time, the man took something out of his pocket. "I want you to catch it before the police, and bring it to me."

He tossed what I now saw was a pokeball towards me, and I caught it with both hands. My eyes widened as I saw the design on it, though. This wasn't just a pokeball.

"How the hell did you get your hands on a masterball?"

He smirked. "I've shared the schematics for it with a friend of mine down in Azalea he built it for me free of charge."

I stared at it for a few seconds, still not believing that I was holding something that was probably worth more than my house. This guy meant serious business.

"…and, what exactly are you paying me?" I asked. That may not have been the most important thing here, but what can I say? A guy's gotta eat.

He walked forward with a large smile, placing what looked like an earpiece in my hand. Although, it was slightly bigger and looked a bit more like a hearing aid.

I quirked an eyebrow. "You're paying me…with a Bluetooth? I don't even own a phone at the moment."

The man scoffed. "That happens to be twice as expensive as the masterball I just gave you."

"Wait, what? For a stupid earpiece? How can it possibly be worth that much?"

"Just put it in, you'll figure it out. I have to get going now, but I'll find you when the task is done." With that, he started walking down the street. I reluctantly put it in my right ear and hit the power button.

…big…fucking…mistake.

All of the sudden, it sent some sort of electric shock through my body and clamped down on my ear like a vice grip.

"FUCKING SHIT!" I screamed as I clutched my ear and jerked in surprise. I lost my footing in the confusion and ended up leaning against the bench.

"Jace! Are you alright!" I heard a voice say. It was one I was unfamiliar with, but it sounded somewhat like a teenage girl.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I said, turning around expecting to see someone, but there was no one there but Rori.

"uh…ok…where are you?" I asked looking around.

"Wait did you just-" I heard, the sound coming directly from…

"JESUS CHRIST!" I yelled in surprise as I jumped about a foot in the air.

Rori just…talked? What the hell is going on? I reached a hand up to the earpiece which was now latched on like a vice grip. I turned around in every direction, looking for the old man, but found absolutely nothing.

Ok…don't freak out…

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><p><strong>Am I a terrible person for stopping it there? Probably, but this is where it made sense to stop. I've gotten a bit better about posting lately so it won't be a two month wait for the next chapter like I usually do.<strong>

**Anyways, I'm out. See you next time.**


	4. Adjusting

**Ok...I'm done with promising deadlines...my muse seems to jump back and forth between stories and when it doesn't, I get loaded with work...so I'm done promising. From now on, it gets done when it gets done. But since I got a few comments about this, I feel the need to address it...I don't give up...I just don't. I will never, ever stop writing these stories, It's what keeps me going ^_^. Even if no one was reading this I wouldn't stop.**

**Which, as it happens, I don't have to worry about, seeing as how I got 18 reviews for my last chapter. ^_^ You guys are amazing. Seriously, I never expected this story to take off like it did. Especially considering this was originally supposed to be a five chapter story. Seriously...this was supposed to be a five chapter romance story...now it's...I don't even know how long it's going to be yet this is so huge!**

**But my guess is you don't want to hear me gush about how awesome you guys are. I've kept you waiting long enough.**

**As always...**

**...ADALANTE!**

**...**

Ok…imagine this situation.

You have a friend…for the sake of keeping things simple, let's call her…Dori.

You have just recently met Dori, and even though you aren't that close yet, she's been living at your house because her owner was flayed ali-I mean…her family is out of town for a really long time.

Now, Dori doesn't speak a word of English other than her own name over and over again, and even then, she doesn't speak because she knows you can't understand what she's saying. Instead, she decides to communicate through physical contact and grunts. You know, hugging, cuddling, and an occasional growl.

Not only has she been sharing your house, but she's been sharing your meals, your time, and even your bed. Yet, you don't have the heart to tell her that she's making you feel uncomfortable because she's mourning her par-I mean…misses her family.

Now, all of the sudden, some random old guy on the street works his magic and you can understand every single word she says. And here is the million dollar question.

...What is the first thing you say to her?

…can't think of anything? Yeah, me neither.

So, in a situation that has nothing at all to do with this Dori person, Rori and I haven't spoken a word to each other since this mechanical parasite latched on to my ear.

We should be talking about this...I mean...we should, right? I don't know...would that really solve anything. The old man is gone, we know nothing about him, and my guess is that he'll be good at covering his tracks. The only way to get more info would be to talk to him directly...the only way to talk to him directly is to do the job...so yeah, I guess there's really not much to talk about there.

But really, let's pretend that where this translator came from doesn't even matter. Let's pretend that the old man doesn't exist and for some reason I can't explain that I can suddenly talk to Pokémon...You'd think that this would be exciting, right? That I'd immediately start up a conversation and take advantage of this wonderful gift that I've been given no matter where it came from...right? WRONG! I'm sorry, but what the heck am I supposed to say when our entire relationship is that of a girl in mourning and her reluctant shoulder to cry on?

So, keeping up with our ever growing list of awkward moments, we walked home in utter silence. Occasionally we would steal a glance at each other just to see how the other was handling the situation. I turned my head to do just that and our eyes met, but instead of turning away like we had before, we took the chance to scan each other's faces.

...I didn't see any definite emotion in her expression, just a bit of a blank stare. She wasn't excited or nervous or anything. If anything was there it was just...uncertainty. An inquiring gaze that seemed to beckon same question that I was thinking myself.

...Where do we go from here?

I opened my mouth to say something, but quickly shut it and turned away, afraid that my mouth would run off track and get me into trouble again. I can handle trouble with the cops, but trouble on a personal level is something I usually try to avoid. If that means biting my tongue and fighting to keep my inner monologue from finding an escape route, so be it.

I racked my brain for something - anything - to say to her, but I was drawing a complete blank. Jen was right; I need to work on my social skills a bit.

...then again, I doubt she'd be much better in this situation than I am.

"Jace?"

...maybe I spoke too soon.

"Yeah?" I answered, still a bit uncertain.

She took a deep breath- assume to calm herself-and then continued. "If...if this too weird for you...I could...you know...keep my mouth shut."

I slowed my pace a bit as I began thinking about what she had just offered. Heartless as it may seem, I actually considered it. After all, this translator didn't change anything for her. She could always understand _me_, it's when _she_ started talking that things started getting weird. However, I quickly discarded the thought. It was different when I couldn't understand her, but now that I could it just seemed cruel to force her to stay silent.

I shook my head. "Nah...I wouldn't make you do that. I'll just have to get used to you actually talking."

She quirked an eyebrow at that. "Well what did you think barking was, an involuntary spasm?"

I chuckled at that. "Sorry. Poor choice of words, but you know what I mean."

...All things considered, that was probably a bit of a big leap in tone, but personally, I'm just glad that she was having a sense of humor about this (however dry it may be). It was a good change from her normal silence and sobbing routine and if she was ok with this...I couldn't argue.

"Well, if I'm not keeping my mouth shut, then could you at least say something? I've just about had it with these long awkward silence moments."

"What's there to talk about?" I asked with a shrug.

She looked at me incredulously. "Jace...a random man on the street just hired you for an illegal job, handed you a master ball, and gave you a piece of technology that shouldn't even exist. You're telling me there's not one conversation starter in there?"

I smirked. It really was amazing how far different her personality was in a conversation. Among the personality traits I had her pinned for, sarcastic wasn't one of them.

"What's there to talk about? He offered me a job and I'll decide if I'll do it later. Unless you learned something I didn't in that little conversation you two had, trying to figure out more is just a stupid attempt. So...did he tell you anything?"

"No..." She mumbled.

"Ok then." I stated, just proving my point. But then a thought occurred to me "Wait...then what exactly did you talk about?"

She paused for a moment. "Nothing important...I changed my mind, can we change the subject now."

Whoa, geeze, defensive much? It was a simple question, really. Still I found it was best to change the subject if it was making her that uncomfortable.

It was a whole minute before I thought of something to talk about, but at least it wasn't as awkward. It was a nice change actually, to have no one talking yet still feeling relatively comfortable. But of course, my mouth aimed to fix that as it began speaking for me once again.

"Why are pokemon so clingy?" I asked, seemingly out of the blue.

She quirked an eyebrow. "Excuse me?" By her tone, she was a bit taken aback at the question.

"Err...I don't mean that in an offensive way. It's perfectly ok, but really, the nuzzling, the cuddling, the licking...how are you so comfortable around other people?"

She made a motion that seemed kind of like a shrug, but looked a little bit off because of her anatomy. "I don't know. Why are you so twitchy?" She countered.

"I am not twitchy!" I defended.

She giggled at that. "Yeah, you definitely are."

"I have no clue what you're talking about." I reiterated. She responded by rolling her eyes and leaning against me, nuzzling her muzzle into the crook of my neck and causing me to jolt back at the sudden physical content.

She laughed again. "See...twitchy."

I grumbled a few expletives under my breath. "Still doesn't answer my question. Like...how the heck did you feel comfortable doing that just now? If a human did that to another human and they weren't intimately acquainted with each other, it'd be weird as fuck."

"Oh, I don't know. With other pokemon that I'm close to, it's just natural. I guess I just assumed it's ok with humans too. Besides, it's one of the only forms of communications I have between species...until about half an hour ago, anyway."

"So, now that we can talk to each other, are you going to stop with the glomping?" I asked.

"Nope. Sorry, but I get a kick out of watching you freak out." She said with a playful smirk.

"Oh you are just...evil." I retorted giving her a glare.

She gave a wide smile. "You have no idea."

I chuckled, despite the fact that all of this was being aimed at me. Normally something like this would easily piss me off, but it really was nice just to see her have...you know...emotions. I mean, other than morbid depression.

It probably had something to do with the fact that we could actually have a conversation, but her entire demeanor had completely changed. Tail swishing back and forth, slight bounce in her step, smirk plastered across her muzzle...granted that kind of made it look like she was baring her teeth, but I knew it was a smile.

"Alright," She interrupted my thoughts, "I've got a question for you. Why do humans wear clothes?"

"Huh?"

"You heard me. Really, I don't get it. Pokemon run around in the nude all the time and don't have any problem with it, but as soon as a human goes running around in his birthday suit it's some sort of big deal. Heck, isn't it even against the law?"

...If anyone else had asked this question, I would have considered it stupid, but somehow, coming from her perspective, it actually seemed like a good question. I find it weird that it just now occurred to me that while I find a lot of things pokemon do odd, they probably think that a lot of stuff we do are idiotic. I just never really thought about it, but hey, I guess everyone is a little bit ignorant at times.

"Well...I guess...because of warmth? I mean, a good chunk of you guys have fur or something, we don't."

"Yeah I get _that_ part of it, but that's not really what I meant. I mean, if you want to wear them, go for it, but why is it such a big deal if they don't?"

"Well...um...how do I put this..." I knew the answer to that question, but I couldn't think of a way to say it while still keeping the conversation pleasant. "Our stuff...kind of just...all hangs loose."

She furrowed her brow, not quite sure what I meant and I silently cursed when I realized she was going to have me explain it to her.

"Well...uh...like I said, you guys have fur and tails and...in males cases...err...sheaths, and...well...you know how when you guys present your...um...areas, it tends to...suggest something...well...it's kind of the same notion for humans."

She nodded. "Got it, ok, now here's my _real_ question."  
>I did a double take at that. "Real question...what do you mean, that wasn't your real question?"<p>

"Of course not. If I was walking around with a fleshy pink ass, I'd want pants too."

I snorted at that. Seriously, what was with the personality one-eighty? "So what did you really want to ask?"

"How can you say all of that with a straight face and freak out when someone touches you?"

I groaned. "Is the whole point of this conversation just to point out all of my personal space issues?"

"Hey, you started it?"

"Well I'm ending it. You can't open the book of my life and jump in the middle."

"...I'm sorry, were you just trying to sound deep or wise or something? 'Cause you really suck at it."

"Oh you are such a little-"

"Rori!"

Out of nowhere a little girl with red hair scared the crap out of me and leapt on Rori in an attack hug. She wrapped her arms around the neck of the large canine, her feet dangling off the ground as she did. Rori looked taken aback...no...that's the wrong word for it. More like...horrified.

For a moment I wanted to make fun of her...call her a hypocrite and whatnot, but it didn't take long to realize that something was wrong, only confirmed when I saw her eyes start to water a bit.

I began looking around. For once I was so involved in the conversation that I hadn't noticed that we were approaching my house, but the really weird thing is that there were two people, a man and a woman, sitting on my front stoop. Now that they saw me, however, they got up and began to slowly jog over.

The woman went to drag the little girl, presumably her daughter, off of Rori. While the man came up to me.

"I'm sorry about her...are you...Jason Mercer?"

"Jace, actually." I corrected. I looked him over from head to toe, as I normally do. He was rather short and kind of pale, with large bags under his eyes that made it look like he hadn't slept in days. His eyes were bloodshot, so either he had an eye infection or he had been doing a lot of crying lately, but if that didn't give it away, the flaming red hair. Not just on the man, but all three of them. It seemed to be a trait that ran in their family, so it was only safe to assume-

The man stuck his hand out awkwardly, as if he half expected me not to shake it. "My name is Eric Kirk...this is my family...I believe you knew my son Allen."

...

**Sorry for the mostly characterization chapter and the crappy cliffhanger, but this is where it made sense to stop. Don't kill me T_T!**

**-Morris**


	5. A Choice

**Once again, I love you all, and the fact that I'm racking up double digit reviews for each chapter is just astounding to me. Thank you all.**

**anyway...**

**Adalante!**

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><p>...I seem to be using the word 'awkward' quite a lot these days.<p>

Not that I'm illiterate or anything, I know other adjectives that can describe the situations I've been put in, but really, no other word describes it quite so well.

From the moment I stepped out my front door that fateful morning, that's all I've been feeling; not sad, not angry, not scared, hell, I haven't even been all that sympathetic about it. I was just horribly, _horribly_ uncomfortable.

From my awkward meeting of Allen and Rori, to getting chucked into a murder case, to becoming temporarily responsible for a six-foot-seven canine that I didn't even want in the first place, to receiving an illegal job, even getting ear-fucked by a Bluetooth that turned me into a damn dog whisperer...nothing, absolutely _nothing_, compared to this.

Sitting at my dining room table with the family of my dead acquaintance after I've been taking care of their, shall we say 'orphaned' pokemon, that I can talk to but they can't...the only thing that would make this worse is if I was using Allen's dead body as a centerpiece.

...God that was gruesome...what the fuck is wrong with me?

"Anyone want some coffee?" I asked, needing to get out of this room for a moment. I was tired, uncomfortable, and had a rather impressive headache brewing, so I needed a breath of fresh air and something to calm the nerves.

Both of the adults politely declined and the little girl wrinkled her nose at the suggestion.

"Alright, I'll just make some for me then. I'll be in the kitchen. Then we can talk about...whatever it is you're here for."

_As if I didn't know already._ I added mentally. They didn't have to say anything, really. I knew very well why they were here. There's only one reason why they would be here...they were here for Rori.

I didn't even mind in the slightest. Granted, she wasn't the pain in the ass I thought she would be, but my position still stands at "I don't want to live with a pokemon." If they wanted her back, I say by all means. It means I finally get some sleep. It was the small talk part that I was dreading. No doubt they'd be wondering why some random man who they've never met before is taking care of their son's pokemon. _"how do you know Allen? Why was she given to you? Is it true that you saved her?"_

Ugh...I'm cringing just thinking about it.

I entered the kitchen and began filling up the coffee maker, rethinking the situation a bit as I remembered the look on Rori's face. That look of pure terror and sadness. I've seen her depressed almost the entire time I've known her, but that look I had only seen once before...at the scene of the crime.

I won't pretend to know about psychology, but _that_ couldn't be good for her. Going back with them, seeing Allen in their faces every day. I know she was supposed to cope with his death, but that's just _not_ the way to do it.

I know after my dad...well...step-dad, died of a heart attack, I couldn't even look my mom in the eyes for a few weeks. If a heart attack can do that to me, I can only imagine what kind of shit must be going on in Rori's head right now.

I took the coffee pot and poured myself a big mug, letting the smell of hazelnut waft up my nostrils and flood my senses. Already, I could feel myself relaxing. Such a marvelous invention, coffee. It's the only drink that can hype you up and calm you down at the same time.

I took a big gulp and shrugged. It's not like she would choose to stay with me anyway. Between her family and a guy she's known for a little over a week, she'll choose family...that's what I would do, anyway...no matter how fucked up they are.

I entered the dining room again to find only Mr. and Mrs. Kirk still in the room. "Where are..." I began, but trailed off as I caught sight of the other two on the back porch through the window. The little one, although harboring a sad look on her face, was petting down the large canine rather furiously and it was obvious that she missed her, but Rori just sat there like a big, fluffy statue, staring off into space.

"We sent them to play outside for a while." The father, Eric, explained. "My wife, Kate, and I both agree that it's not best to bring up Allen in front of Paula...or Rori for that matter."

"Yeah...that's probably better." I agreed as I sat down again. "So…uh…what did you want to talk about?"

_Just get to the point, just get to the point, PLEASE just get to the point._

They glanced at each other before Kate started. "Well…first we just wanted to say thank you. We talked to the police chief and she told us your part in…in what happened."

I sighed, knowing that this wouldn't be a grab and go type deal. This was going to be a long sappy talk with possible crying outbursts. Still, I nodded, eager to get it over with.

"Well…it was no problem at all…" I said, unsure of how to respond. I was never good at accepting compliments, mostly because I don't get many. Insults…now insults are easy. Just a cocky smirk and a snarky comeback and I can easily turn it around, but a compliment? How does one respond to flattery? I always felt that nodding absentmindedly worked the best, but sooner or later I was going to have to start talking again.

"No, really." Eric chimed in. "One of the officers at the station filled us in on everything that happened. If you didn't step in then she…well…she probably would have been taken to the clinic."

"Um…yeah, most likely. But…really, I wasn't really thinking about it, I just…" I trailed off when I realized explaining it _my_ way would only serve to worsen their opinion of me. So I kind of just waited for them to start again.

"So…um…how did you know Allen and Rori?" Eric began, trying to restart the conversation.

"Well…I really didn't. We only just met that day...Rori bowled me over on the sidewalk by accident and Allen bought me a cup of coffee to apologize. I guess you can say we were acquaintances, but we had only just briefly met."

"Just met," Kate repeated, as if bewildered by my statement, "they handed her over to you when you only just met?"

I chuckled despite myself. "Well it wasn't handing over so much as it was shoving into my lap, but-" I stopped as I realized they were both staring at me with confusion and a little bit of surprise.

"Oh…no no no." I said, holding my hands up in defense. "I don't mean it like that. Rori's a sweet girl and I love having her around the house." I paused for a moment, surprised that it wasn't just bullshit I was spewing and I was telling the truth, but continued. "It's just that I wasn't asked if she could stay with me so much as told she was going to living with me for a few days."

"So…you and Rori are…close?" Eric asked, seemingly a bit disappointed.

"Well, I wouldn't say we're best friends or anything, but yeah we've-" I stopped, realizing my mouth was running and we were just dancing around the subject that really mattered here.

"Look," I continued, "if you want to take her back, that's fine. I have no right to stop you and so long as Rori is willing to go back with you, I'm not going to fight it, but can we please cut this horribly uncomfortable small talk, because frankly it isn't getting anywhere and, with my social skills, it can only go downhill from here...trust me."

There was a long silence as they stared at me, shocked. What can I say? I have that effect on people. I know it was blunt and they were probably looking for some sort of polite way to bring it up, but all of this chitchat was just avoiding what they came here for and worsening their opinion of me the longer it went on.

They looked at each other and then back at me before Kate spoke. "Well…we…we would love to have Rori come back with us-"

"But," Eric interrupted, "Not at the expense of her well being If she really is getting better like you're saying, we wouldn't want to do anything that might change that. I can imagine that she'd want to move on and...living with us…well…"

"The point is," Kate cut back in, "that we won't force her to do anything that she doesn't want. If she's happy here with you, fine, but we just want her to know that she has the option to come home."

I leaned back in my chair as I took that in. I wasn't expecting that, really. I thought they were just trying to be polite, but their questions now seemed like they were trying to get a read on how she liked it here. Seems I underestimated them, but what can I say? In the world we live in, it's more often that a pokemon wouldn't get a say in the matter, so no one could blame me for jumping to that conclusion.

Hearing their real intentions was actually kind of refreshing, although it did raise a question. "Then why isn't she in here for this?"

They just stared at me with a blank expression for a few seconds, so I continued. "She's a big girl, she can handle a grown up conversation and if this really is her decision, then you should go out there and ask her what she wants. Seriously, I'll even give you some alone time with her if you need it, but dragging out an awkward conversation with me isn't getting anyone anywhere."

They both hesitated before Eric spoke up. "Well, we thought it would be better if you tell her."

"Excuse me?" I asked, not believing what I just heard.

"Well," he continued, "It's just…we don't want to feel like we're forcing her to do anything and with the wa she's been reacting towards us so far...we just feel that she might take it better from you."

I blinked for a moment, confused about their logic. Why would she take it better from me? If anything, I think she would want to hear it from her family…unless of course they don't get along…which…would actually make sense with how emotinless she is around them right now. I mean, I've seen her depressed before but now she's just…dead. That's the only way I can explain it. In which case, asking me to tell her would just be…oh you sneaky little-

"And by 'she'll take it better from me', you mean she'll be more likely to go with _you_."

Kate scoffed at me. "I beg your pardon."

"Don't play dumb with me, it's just basic psychology. If I tell her, it'll seem like I'm trying to kick her out, and if you tell her, it'll seem like you're trying to take her away. You know, shoot the messenger and all that jazz." I explained.

"How dare you-"

I cut her off. "Yes, yes, how dare I accuse you of such a thing? I've heard that one before, believe me. If you want me to tell her, I'll tell her, but don't try to bullshit me."

I got up and walked out of the room before they could get another word in and headed to the back door, where Rori and the kid were still waiting, but paused before I went through.

…maybe that was a bit of a snap judgment on my part. After all, it's a tendency of mine to always assume the worst of people and in hindsight, what I just accused them of was rather childish and petty. I looked back towards the dining room and debated whether or not I should go back and apologize, but decided against it. The real question was why I even cared.

A week ago I would have gone along with this without a second thought just to get Rori out of my hair…hell…this very _morning_ I would have gone along with it. So what changed? Why did I just call them out on something that probably wasn't even going through their heads?

My hand instinctively went up to my ear as my fingers ran over the answer to my question.

Now that I had the translator…I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to talk to her more. Whether that was personal interest or just scientific curiosity, I don't know, but even if it was from a scientific standpoint, I wouldn't want to just go up to a random pokemon and begin a conversation. I was somewhat-however small the extent to this might be-comfortable around her, and it would be easier to talk to her than anyone else.

I pondered this for a small moment, but then shook it off, reminding myself that it wasn't my decision. It was hers.

I opened the door as both the little girl and oversized canine turned to greet me, the latter of the two looking at me pleadingly, though I didn't quite know what the implication was.

"Paula, you're parents need to talk to you inside."

"Ok," She chirped happily as she grabbed a fistful of Rori's mane, "Come on Rori."

The arcanine begrudgingly stood up to follow her before I placed a hand on her back. "Actually, just you, Paula. Rori needs to stay out here with me."

The child frowned and pouted. "Aw, does she have to?"

"Yes. Now run along. You're parents are waiting."

Her head drooped down as she slowly trudged inside, leaving the door open behind her.

"Thanks." Rori muttered under her breath.

"Don't mention it…sit down for a minute, we need to talk."

She nodded and did so as I pushed myself up onto the railing of my front porch, the slight boost in height leaving us at eye level. I took a deep breath, not quite sure how to start, before just beginning anyways.

"Are you okay?" I asked, surprised that those were actually the first words out of my mouth, but didn't pay them much thought otherwise.

"I'm…fine." She said as if debating that simple answer over in her head.

"Liar." I simply stated, eliciting an exasperated sigh from the canine, but not an actual response, so I continued.

"I mean, you'd think you'd be just a little bit happy to see these people. They obviously care about you, so what's the matter here."

"They're…" she mulled it over in her head looking for the right word for it, "They're hypocrites."

I quirked an eyebrow at that. "How so?"

"Well, they're nice people. They really are. And they say that they consider me part of the family, but…they treat me like a pet." She breathed deeply as she continued her explanation. "They always acted like I was a child that didn't know any better. If I made a mistake they wouldn't let me try to explain it or anything, they scolded me saying 'bad dog' and shoved me in a corner. At least…" Her breath hitched a bit but she moved on. "At least Allen did his best to try and treat me like an actual person, although…that was a little hard with all the barriers between us, but he gave an honest effort and tried to communicate with me. But the rest of them…the only reason I could ever stand the Kirks is because of Allen and…now that he's…"

She began sniffling as I realized that she was about to start crying and I instinctively reached out to put a hand on her head, stroking through her thick, bushy mane to try and calm her down. It worked to some extent, as the tears building up began to recede, but she was still depressed looking.

"I'm not stupid." She finally said, making me furrow my eyebrows in confusion. "I know why they're here. They're going to take me back right?"

I retracted my hand feeling that my job of comforting was over, but her head followed and she leaned against it, subconsciously telling me to keep going. "Well…they said it was you're choice, and they're really right. Technically, whoever owns your pokeball has custody." I explained, taking out the small red and white orb that Jen had brought over to me the day after I took her in. She said she took care of the paperwork and that legally, she was mine until we figured out permanent living arrangements.

"So," I began again, "They can't force you to leave if you don't want. Then again, I'm not going to force you to stay here if you don't want either, so, yeah, it's your choice."

She breathed a sigh of relief and then leaned into me, although I controlled myself from spazzing out this time. Instead, I just drummed the fingers of my free hand against the wooden railing uncomfortably.

When a considerable amount of time seemed to pass, I felt the need to ask. "So…what do you think?"

"I…I don't know." She responded honestly as she finally stepped away to a comfortable distance. "I…I don't really want to go back with them, but…like I said, I'm not stupid. I know you don't really want me here."

"Well…" I started, almost about to deny that last statement. However, there was some truth in what she was saying. I meant what I said about not wanting a pokemon living with me, but, at the same time, for whatever reason, I did enjoy speaking with her…for however short a time that might have been.

"…that's neither here nor there." I finally answered, not wanting to confirm or deny it when I didn't even know the answer myself. "Just focus on what you want, ok. I'm not going to kick you out or anything if you say you don't want to go."

"So I was right, you don't want me here." She didn't seem hurt by it, but rather stated it like it was a simple matter of fact.

"I didn't say that!" I defended, feeling a bit guilty.

She tilted her head in confusion. "So…what _are_ you saying exactly?"

"I'm not saying anything. I'm just trying to tell you that this is your decision, not mine."

She huffed, getting a bit annoyed. "I know that, but it's a simple question, really?"

"No it's not." I countered. "Because depending on what I say, it's going to affect you're decision, and I don't want that."

"So what," She began to shout as she was obviously getting very frustrated with me, "if it makes it easier for me to choose, than why not just answer the damn question."

"Because," I groaned, getting a bit irritated myself, "then I'd just be making your decision for you."

"You're not _making_ it for me! You're _helping _me make it!" She growled. "I'm not going to stay anywhere where I know I'm not wanted, so I'm not choosing anything until you give me a clear answer."

I grabbed at my hair in frustration. "What do you want from me, Rori? I'm not your owner, I'm not your master, I'm not your partner, and I'm not your friend, so does it matter what-"

I stopped as I realized what I just said and snapped my head up to gauge her reaction. Her eyes were wide, jaw partially dropped in a pained expression as if I had just slapped her in the face. After all, I might as well have. For once, I actually needed to apologize.

"Rori…I…I'm sorry, I didn't-"

"Stop," she interrupted, her voice now cold and emotionless as if she were talking to the Kirks, "…just stop. You meant what you said…that's fine…it just gives me the answer I was looking for."

A feeling swept over me that I wasn't quite familiar with, but it felt horrible all the same. I opened my mouth to say something else, but it felt like I had been punched in the stomach and I had the wind knocked out of me.

"I…I…"

She didn't give me a chance to respond but turned and walked back through the still open door.

"I'm sorry" I murmured under my breath as I watched her turn around the corner, and I finally placed a finger on that horrible feeling.

My God…I feel guilty. Quite frankly, I'm used to always being right. I know that sounds arrogant, but it's not, because it's true. I might second guess myself sometimes, but I've never fully regretted anything that I said…not like this anyway. Not to the point like I feel like I have to apologize for what I said. I mean I knew I was a bit of a jerk, but this is the first time I actually felt like a jerk.

I glanced through the window at Rori and the Kirks, all of them huddled around each other in a group hug. She has made her choice…the wrong choice…and I was the one that pushed her toward it.

…me and my big mouth.

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><p><strong>Ok…I want to thank the majority of you for waiting patiently for the next chapter. You guys are the best fans I could ask for. Seriously, I love all of my fans no matter what storystories of mine they read and I'm glad you take such an interest in my work. I love your reviews, your messages, and you guys keep me going. Even if you just leave a "Please update soon", that brightens my day in a way you wouldn't believe and I thank you for it.**

****The next chapter will officially end the first story arc, so you know what that means...NO CLIFFHANGER! ^_^. And I'll try to get the next chapter out as soon as possible but no promises. As to how many arcs there will be...I dunno. Right now, I've planned out five for major plot development, and three for filler and character development, but there will probably be more.****


	6. Guilt Trip

**OK…I lied…this is NOT the end of the story arc and there IS a crappy cliffhanger, but considering my posts are probably going to become less frequent for some time, I thought, hey, might as well give you what I've got. That being said, where I decided to cut it leaves me with half of the next chapter done already…so if I feel up to it, I'll probably knock that out pretty soon too.**

**(Special thanks to TheDivines, who was able to supply me with some cover art for this story. As promised, I will begin your request story as soon as possible.)**

**As always…Adalante.**

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><p>Saying goodbye has always been easy for me…with her it was no different. She made her choice. There was no reason for me to keep her here. All I had to do was step aside and wave as she walked out the door…and out of my life.<p>

The Kirk's didn't stay long. Why would they after the way I insulted them? They just gave their curt goodbyes and muttered a thanks for keeping Rori for so long. Then they all piled into their mini-van, which I'm surprised Rori could even fit in, and started driving back to Goldenrod.

…this is good…this is what I wanted…this is the way it had to be…right?

I rolled over in my bed and stared at the ceiling as I pondered my own insomnia. I shouldn't have been awake…my eyes should have drifted shut the minute I hit my pillow two hours ago. After all, I had barely gotten any sleep this week. Though my body was tired, my mind was determined to keep me awake for some unknown reason.

Why was I still thinking about this? I have my own bed back, I don't have to watch what I say anymore, I won't have to cater to a crying canine…what's the problem. I'm alone…just like I wanted.

…alone…

I cringed as the word seemed to echo through my mind, although, again, I'm not sure why. I always enjoyed my solitude. It gave me space from the idiotic jack-offs of the world and allowed me time to think. Though, now that I was by myself once again, I didn't much like it. Only question is…why?

I rolled over again, this time onto my stomach, outstretching my arm to the other side of the bed and clutching the sheets that had clumped up in my attempt to get comfortable.

…wait a minute…

I half opened my left eye and looked at my hand which was grasping the sheets that were on what used to be her side of the bed. Not tightly in a death grip or anything…almost as if…as if she were still there.

My God...that's it, isn't it? I miss her…damn it I miss her! Why the hell do I miss her!?

I flipped over and sat up, wiping my eyes as I let out a yawn. Kicking the blanket off of me, I slid my legs over the side of the bed, hunched forward and propped my head up with my elbow as my mind began to work.

…Damn it…this is exactly what I was afraid of. I didn't want her staying here for exactly this reason. Nothing good comes out of growing attached to people…but still, how the fuck did this even happen? I've known certain people for years and barely consider them acquaintances. How does she waltz into my life for less than a week and make me miss her when she leaves. It's not humanly possible.

...wait…that's right, it's not possible…not for me anyway…so…there has to be some other reason…maybe it's…guilt?

I pondered the idea in my head for a moment and then nodded. It seemed plausible enough…or at least _more_ plausible. Guilt and loneliness were both things I very rarely feel, but out of the two, guilt seemed a hell of a lot more likely…especially after what I said to her.

…God, I still feel bad about that…I was probably her only friend in the world and then I go right up to her face and tell her she's not…for once, I'll admit that I probably crossed a line there…only problem is, how do I make it right?

Going after her is out of the question…she probably doesn't want to see me anyway, which made actually fixing the problem out of the question…what I needed was a way for me to feel better about the situation without actually fixing anything. Shouldn't be too hard…I'm a master at avoiding the real problem.

…and yet I seem to be drawing a blank…God, fuck insomnia. My brain doesn't work when I'm running on fumes.

I rubbed my temples and grumbled as a small headache began to form…I needed an Advil or something.

I slowly stood up and stretched out my limbs, trudging out the door, down the stairs, and into the kitchen. Flipping on the lights I opened up one of the cupboards and pulled out a bottle of ibuprofen, taking out two pills and dry-swallowing them.

Ok…think…guilt…how do I get rid of guilt without actually fixing anything? The only thing that really comes to mind is doing something nice for her, but again, she probably doesn't even want to see me, so that limits the things I can do to…sending a frickin fruit basket…how pathetic.

I rubbed my eyes as I tried my best to keep my brain awake. Come on Jace, you're smarter than this…think…what's something you can do for her that doesn't involve actually talking to her…what does she want?

…From what I can gather, she wanted to be treated like a human…that's why she hesitated going back with the Kirk's…but I doubt I can help much in that area. Other than that, I haven't been able to pick up on anything else from the short amount of time we've been able to talk together, and before we could speak, she just spent most of her time crying over Allen.

…wait…

My eyes drifted towards my kitchen counter, where I had placed the master ball given to me by the old man.

…that's it…that's what she needs…closure. Allen's uncle is obviously the one behind his murder. I know it, Rori knows it, even the police, as slow as they are, know it…there's just no evidence.

The best way to go about getting evidence is to find the houndoom. If it was on the loose and really has gone crazy like Allen's uncle said, it would have attacked someone or something by now and the police would have been all over it. By that logic, it's completely in its right mind, and furthermore that'll be proof that the man is guilty of sicking his dog on his own nephew.

By now, the police have definitely revoked his trainer's license, or at the very least, suspended it. By that logic, they should have deactivated his pokeballs, which means I can use that masterball to catch it no problem…but…that means I have a choice to make as well.

…believe it or not, I _had_ actually been considering what that old man proposed to me earlier today. How could I not? It's obvious he meant serious business, as I don't think he'd trust me with a master ball or a piece of experimental technology otherwise. He worked for someone powerful…and the fact that they had taken an interest in me was… well, actually, a little disturbing, but it intrigued me all the same.

However, if I handed that houndoom over to the police, that would be it. I could forget about getting any answers and I'd never see that old man ever again. Who was he working for? Why me? What job could I possibly do for him? If I turned in the mutt, then I would never find out.

…Those were my choices…neither of which I was particularly fond of. Really, it was a question of whether I'd rather lose sleep over guilt, or wondering what the hell I was being scouted for.

I sat down at my kitchen table and propped my head up on my elbow, absentmindedly drumming my fingers as I thought over the two options. It quite literally seemed impossible to choose. Even if Rori wasn't playing a factor into this, if I really did find the devil dog…would I really just hand over the evidence to that old geezer and let the killer walk free? I couldn't just let the bastard get away with it…if there was other evidence in the case, sure I'd do it, but I'm not…gonna…

…hold on…

…Why am I thinking there are only two choices here? No situation is _completely _black and white…there's always a grey area somewhere.

I've solved cases before…none of them nearly this important, but I've done it…most of the time it's because I picked up on something that everyone else missed. Why would this be any different? If I found something else that proved Allen's uncle is a lying douchebag, I could send his ass to jail and _still_ give the pokemon to that weirdo with the cane.

...I glanced at the clock as I thought it over.

**1:45 a.m.**

…It's perfect timing…it's dark out, the street lights will be out, most people will be asleep…I needed to do this now.

I got up, grabbed a can of monster out of the fridge, and proceeded to down the entire can. I needed to be wide awake…I needed my normal observation skills, otherwise this venture would be fucking pointless.

Slurping up the last drop of the energy drink, I crushed it and tossed it on the table, slapping myself lightly for good measure as I could feel my eyes beginning to be pinned back by the caffeine. By the time I reached my destination it would be in full effect. I started to leave the kitchen, but then paused in the doorway, turning back to look at a set of kitchen knives near the sink.

…I mulled over the thought in my head for a moment before turning back and grabbing one of the smaller ones, slipping it into my pocket and making sure that I wouldn't stab myself with it.

…and with that, I left the kitchen, heading straight down the front hallway and out the door as a plan slowly began to form in my head.

* * *

><p><strong>*Sigh*...I'm really sorry, i didn't mean for this to be a cliffhanger...that's just how it ended up.<strong>

**Anyway…one more chapter in the story arc (for real this time) and then I can start getting to the good stuff…I know that seems weird to say considering how much people seem to be into this first story arc, but trust me, I'm barely scratching the surface here. I didn't expect this to get anywhere near as popular as it is right now…I mean…I just got 22 reviews since I posted my last chapter…I mean damn…if someone told me back when I started this account that I'd not only be racking up double digit numbers, but cracking twenty reviews per chapter, I would have laughed in their face…seriously you guys, thank you so much ^_^.**

**-Morris**


	7. Violet Daycare's Secrets

**(looks through the reviews for last chapter) …is this…is this for real…did I really…..yep…30+ reviews for last chapter…and that pushes me over one hundred…105 reviews…for six chapters…have I mentioned how much a freaking love you guys. :P**

**Anywho…**

**Warning: This chapter contains images which could be potentially disturbing to some readers…this story IS rated M and I haven't broken any of fanfiction's rules, so if this kind of thing creeps you out…look away…look away now. It's your own fault.**

…**if you need time to mentally prepare…the word you should stop reading at is "bingo"…not kidding.**

**As always...adalante!**

**...**

_...This...is the _very definition_ of a stupid idea. _I thought to myself as I tried to unlock the sliding glass door of the daycare with my kitchen knife. Seriously, what was I thinking? This could only serve to get myself in deeper shit than I already am.

I had hopped the fence and went around to the back entrance of the building, as I really didn't want to have to explain this if someone caught me trying to get the _front _door open. The lack of security of this place, quite frankly, astounded me. I mean, it's not like I was expecting this to be like breaking into a top secret government lab or something. I knew there wouldn't be security cameras or security systems or any shit like that because quite frankly, this town is boring as all hell.

Well, not _lately_ I suppose, but up until a week ago, all was going well.

Still...at the very least, make the fence high enough so I can't just hoist myself over the damn thing. Any Pokémon that isn't a hatchling can easily just jump over it with a running leap, making its existence completely useless.

I took a look around behind me, feeling like someone was watching me, but I knew I was just being paranoid and quickly returned to the lock. After the murder, all of the trainers had hastily come in to collect their Pokémon. This entire yard was completely empty, leaving me free to fiddle with this door for as long as I needed to.

Actually...I don't know what's more pathetic. The fact that this door is only locked with a latch-a lock so simple that anyone with a credit card could pick it-or the fact that _I can't fucking get it open!_

Jerked the knife upward and began to pull, trying to release it, but all I did was put a chink in one of my good cooking knives.

I cursed under my breath, but then slid the blade back in between the door and the wall and tried again. I knew from experience that getting irritated would get me nowhere.

Breaking and entering...trespassing...theft if i find something I can use as evidence...all of this was nothing new to me. I had done this plenty of times before back in my teen years...of course, back then I was just breaking into a storage room or something to swipe a few candy bars, but the skills were still applicable. I'd say it made me feel young again, but I'm only in my early twenties, so it wasn't exactly that long ago. It definitely felt like old times, though.

…actually, that's not true…back then I did this kind of shit for the adrenaline…that rush you get when you were doing something you knew would get you in trouble. This time, there was a reason for my behavior…however selfish that reason may be.

…but maybe I'm over analyzing it. It was simple really. Get in, take a look around to see if I can come up with anything, if I find any evidence, I'll take it and get out…again, simple.

…that is if I can ever get this stupid latch open…damn, I'm rusty at this…not that that's a bad thing, but I should already be inside right now and I would _really_ hate to break a window or something equally as loud and destructive.

_…come on, mother fucker, OPEN!_

I angled the knife upward so that the tip was under the lock and then drove my knee into the handle of the blade.

Finally, the latch gave way allowing me to slide the door open and step inside. I slid the blade into my pocket as I looked around, finding that the back entrance opened up into some sort of employee lounge that looked like a living room. The walls were painted a bland shade of white. Actually... I don't think they were painted at all. It's just standard, uncolored, drywall. The room was equally as boring, containing nothing except for a couple of couches, a coffee table, and a...oh you've got to be kidding me.

…I always thought daycares were a waste of money…this pretty much proves it. They can't even be bothered to paint the walls, yet they find room in the budget to buy a plasma screen TV? Something tells me they aren't watching the Pokémon 24/7 like they should be...ugh…lucky bastards get to sit on their asses all day doing nothing and get paid for it.

Wait…focus Jace. You're here for a reason.

I shook my somewhat jealous thoughts out of my head, leaving out the only other door available in the room. It led out to a very short, very narrow hallway, which was equally boring, as its walls once again were unpainted. There were only three other doors, and since one was marked "storage" and another was marked "bathroom", it was easy to figure out which one I should take.

Stepping through the door, I found myself behind the front desk of the lobby, which was exactly where I wanted to be. I must admit, they did a good job of cleaning this place up...last time I saw it, it was covered in blood and there was the smell of burning flesh in the air. Of course, that only made my job harder, as a lot of potential clues could have been wiped away. In fact, I wasn't really expecting to find any hard evidence against this guy. Incompetent as they might be, the police would have been extremely thorough with their search, if they didn't find anything that wasn't circumstantial, I probably wouldn't either...at least, not after they cleaned it up. Not that it was completely impossible, but I wasn't expecting it.

No, what I was looking for was a motive for this seemingly pointless killing, and that's something I can find that most of the local cops can't. They needed the ability to think, make connections, draw logical conclusions. That's what I was here for. If I could at least come up with a reason for this seemingly senseless crime, something that Jen could use in an interrogation, or a lawyer could use in court, that would go miles in helping arrest this guy.

I hopped over the counter and made my way to the center of the lobby. The wooden floor was heavily charred from the murder, as black splotches were scattered across the ground, but near the center of the floor was a dark patch that was larger and more burnt than any other section, being roughly six feet in diameter.

...this is where Allen died...he was pinned to the ground and burned alive in this very spot. The best thing I could think of to do was to try and recreate the scene backwards...so this is where I had to start.

I stood dead center in the middle of the black spot and began scanning the area. There were three entrances to the lobby, two doors behind the counter and the front entrance, aside from the front desk, there was no furniture or decorations…it was a very bare bones type of establishment I guess. You know, just the essentials...front desk, couches, mini fridge...plasma screen tv…yeah…just the basics.

…moving along…

The first thing I noticed that was of any interest was an oddly shaped black splotch towards the front entrance. It was the mark I had spotted earlier this week when I had arrived during the crime scene investigation...the one that had the outline of Allen's foot.

I cringed just looking at it, my toes curling up as if they were trying to hide. Setting my own personal discomfort aside, it seemed like the mark was a precision shot… or rather, more precise than all the others which were strewn about. It was facing towards the door and was much too far from the front desk. There was no reason for Allan to be there… unless he was running away... so it wasn't a sneak attack or anything… either they had an argument, or Allen saw something he shouldn't have… my money is on the latter.

So… he was running away from the houndoom… It shot his foot using flamethrower, causing him to fall to the ground… from there, it probably dragged him away from the door, making sure he wouldn't get away… then it pinned him down, and… did _this._

Picturing the scene made me cringe just thinking about it… but the actual placement of the mark was the most unsettling…it was right near the door, a mere two steps away from the entrance. He was so close… so close to getting away. He lost his life because of two measly steps…

…I felt nauseous all of the sudden. I couldn't even imagine what must have been going through his head as this all happened… to be so close to freedom… to be burnt alive while his friends were merrily goofing off with the Pokémon outside… ugh.

My stomach began to churn, as if begging my brain to stop thinking about it. _Come on Jace, pull yourself together… you looked at his mangled fucking carcass without so much as flinching, you can get through this._

Ok… back on track… whatever happened probably didn't originate in this room. It's too out in the open, too big of a chance of people walking in, but the way I came in would be too close to the other workers. For the sake of things right now, I'm just going to say that all the workers were out back, as well as Rori. The employees would have rushed in here if they were close enough to hear it, and Rori… well I'm sure Rori would have given that houndoom a run for its money had she been with Allen at the time.

…So that just leaves the second door behind the counter. The one I hadn't entered through… let's see where that takes me. I hop over the front desk once again, opening the door right next to the one I had entered through and finding yet another narrow hallway. This one was a lot longer though, and with a lot more doors… seven to be exact, three on each side and one at the end… none of them labeled this time.

I gave a heavy sigh as it dawned on me that I'd probably just have to check them at random until I found something… great… just great.

Oh well… better get sta-… wait… what the hell is that.

I didn't see it at first, but there was a pretty decent sized hole in the right-side wall about halfway down the hallway.

… how the hell did I miss that? … eh… I'll just blame it on the lighting. I should have thought to bring a flashlight or a lighter or something.

Anyway… I got about halfway to the hole in the wall before I was able to piece together what happened. I gave a smirk as I turned toward the door directly opposite the puncture mark.

Judging by the size, shape, and the long scrape that followed it, it was almost definitely made by the houndoom. It must have come charging out of that room pretty fast. The curvature of the horns on a houndoom make them mostly just for show, but with enough speed and the right angle (for instance, if it was running really fast and trying to turn a tight corner like this one was doing) it could cause a bit of damage. I mean, look at this thing. It pierced one of the metal studs in the wall – something I didn't think possible. For a hauros, maybe, but a houndoom?

_Eh, whatever, don't question it Jace, just get in, find your motive, and get out. _I thought as I rested my hand on the handle.

…_and behind door number three we have…_

I yanked open the door, barely even concerned with keeping quiet anymore as it thudded against the wall. However, the room was much too dark to really make anything out, so I instinctively reached around for a light switch. My hand fumbled blindly against the wall until I finally found some sort of knob… probably a dimmer. Turning it in the hopes that it would illuminate the room, it did just that to show…

… nothing… absolutely nothing… what the fuck?

The room was empty… although admittedly, it didn't feel like it, as it was the only room to have any sort of substance to it. The walls were painted a deep, dark shade of blue and the hardwood floor definitely stood out form the linoleum tiles that filled the rest of this place.

But… that didn't make any sense. If there's nothing in this room, then it really has no purpose. Why upgrade a room if you're not doing anything with it.

I stepped inside and leaned against the wall as my brain began going a mile a minute.

_Ok… so… a small empty room… if there's nothing in this room, then what the hell started this fight… Allen was outside… the uncle and the Houndoom must have been in here. Yet… there's nothing in here… and again, why is this the only room that looks even remotely habitable?_

…_what the hell could a man and his houndoom be doing in an empty room that's so horrible that he… that… he…_

… holy shit… I think I've got it.

… scratch that… I've got it… I _know _I've got it.

In an empty room with a man and a Pokémon, I can only think of one thing that would cause all of this. Even as I smirked, having figured it out, part of me felt like I wanted to puke.

All of this… a murder, a huge police investigation, putting Rori and her family into a state of depression… all because of fucking Poképhilia.

Yeah… that's right… all of this because the guy was fucking his dog…

…ok… here's what happened. All of the workers were out back except for Mr. Kirk and his houndoom, who I'm willing to bet anything is a female, they decide to have a little alone time and head off to this room. This room, which, I'm pretty sure, was furnished for the explicit reason of having a place to fuck in the middle of the day. Only reason I can come up with for this windowless room being the ONLY one that looks halfway decent…I wouldn't want to do it in a room that was as sloppily put together as the rest of this place either… kind of makes it feel like a cheap motel.

…Anyway…Allen comes in for some reason, interrupts them and then… this happens… makes perfect sense to me. I mean, with how harsh the punishment is for these sorts of interspecies relationships… the uncle would have gone to jail for life and depending on the condition of the Pokémon it would be put to death…I'm not saying I condone it, but I can perfectly understand the uncle making that split second decision to off his nephew.

… Hell, even if I'm _not_ right, that doesn't even matter, does it? I have enough reason to support my claim so all I have to do is blow my metaphorical rape whistle and every cop in the department will be all over it.

So… in other words… the guy's a pervert, case closed… now maybe I can finally get some fucking sleep.

I exhaled deeply, finally relaxing. That was… really easy… why didn't I do this before? Could have gotten Rori out of my hair a _lot_ sooner and I wouldn't have had to deal with this stupid guilt trip. Still, I shrugged as I left the room, letting out a yawn as I did so. So, I'll just tell Jen in the morning and that will be the end of that.

I stretched myself out, reaching my arms out in the air and relieving any tension I had built up during this little excursion as I spun around and began to walk out the door. Right now, there was nothing I would like more than to have a hot shower and crawl into bed for a few-

… wait a second.

I stopped at the hole in the wall, quirking an eyebrow as a thought came to mind and then turned to look back in the room.

_No… stop it Jace! You have your God damn motive, just leave it already. Go home… call Jen in the morning… get some sleep…. FUCKING DAMN IT!_

I cursed myself as my brain kept working against my will. The room was way too small for the houndoom to build up enough speed to pierce through the wall...maybe the drywall by itself, but the metal stud. Not a snowrunt's chance in hell. It would have had to been barreling forward in a straight line to build up enough speed, and it also would have had to have started from behind the wall, which was impossible unless…

I urged myself to stop this stupid thought…it was impossible, there was no way that it would go anywhere. I… I had to be miscalculating this or something, there is no fucking way…

Of course, I immediately countered myself. If it indeed _was _impossible, then checking it out wouldn't change anything.

Clenching my fists and hoping I wasn't right, I walked back into the room, quickly pressing my ear against one of the walls and tapping on it with my knuckles just so I have something to compare too. There was a dull ***thud***, as was expected, and with the sound in mind, I approached the wall opposite the door, pressing my ear against it and repeating the same action.

…***thunk***

…I just stood there and let the sound sink in for a few seconds as I dropped my head in disappointment.

…shit…fucking shit…FUCKING SHIT PISS, COCK SUCKING WHORE, **MOTHER FUCKER!**

I mean… God Damn! Hundreds of daycares in the world and I have to stumble into the only one owned by fucking Golbatman.

… there was something behind that wall… a secret room probably, or some shite like that… well… at least that explains where a good chunk of the funding went for this place instead of furnishing other rooms… still doesn't make me feel any better though.

Of course, hard evidence was always better than just a motive… and if there _was_ any, it would be on the other side of that wall.

I pounded my fist against the wall in anger, every fiber of my being telling me to just leave that bit of info with Jen and go back to fucking bed, but I knew that was an impossibility. The minute I lie down I would just start thinking about what's on the other side of this door, so leaving now wouldn't make any sense. The whole reason I came here was to cure my insomnia, and I intended to do just that.

Still angry at myself for not being able to turn off my brain, I began feeling around the wall for a button or a lever or something. Wherever it was, it would be in this room…probably right next to the door itself. I slid my hands down the wooden surface being sure to take note of any indents or bumps that could be a way of opening it.

Finding nothing, I tried kneeling down and feeling along the molding between the floor and the wall.

… Bingo…

There was a small little button, barely noticeable if you weren't actually looking for it, but it was there. So I pushed it in, watching half of my index finger disappear until I finally heard a small popping noise…as if I just unlocked something.

Not sure of what to do, I gave the door a hard shove and found that it gave way, swinging open like any normal door.

…I…I'll be honest…I had a very clear image in my head of what I _thought_ I was going to see when I found a way to open this door. I thought I would see a small extension of the room, barely furnished at all, a mattress on the floor with more than a few questionable stains.

But… for once I was wrong… horribly… horribly wrong. I knew it even before I saw what was on the other side…I knew it from the sound that came pouring out the as the door slowly started to peel away from the wall. The soundproofing that must have been done was negated, and the sounds that came from inside were… morbid… and that was putting it lightly.

A correlation of crying and moaning and screaming for help… a static chorus of pain and misery echoing down a dark corridor. It sent a chill down my spine and covered my body in goosebumps. But the worst part… the absolute worst part was that once the door was finally open… all I could see was darkness. The door opened into a stairwell and I could only make out the first set of steps before it was engulfed in a world of black.

Everything was left up to my imagination… which meant that the worst was coming to mind. Murder… kidnapping victims being held against their will… torture… what the heck was going on down there?

… I didn't have much time to think about it though. Out of the darkness lunged a black figure that would have scared the shit out of me had I not already been in a state of terror. A set of paws hit me square in the chest, causing me to sprawl spread eagle across the ground and slam my head against the hardwood floor.

I instinctively began to reach my hand up to my head to try and negate some of the initial pain, but a pair of jaws clamping down on my neck erased any thought of moving from my mind.

... well… I found the houndoom.

"Make one move," it began snarling in a feminine, yet still completely terrifying voice, "and there'll be a big gaping hole where your throat should be."

I gulped involuntarily at the thought of having my neck torn apart as my mouth went as dry as a ball of cotton. "Wouldn't dream of it."

It's growling paused at my response as she retracted her teeth for a moment, gazing at me with angry, yet confused eyes. "…you understood me?"

For once, not being able to think straight, I stammered a bit. "I… uh… y-yeah."

She pondered my answer for a bit, obviously not expecting it, and for a moment I hoped that it would work in my favor somehow. However, no such luck.

The minute I thought that it might help my situation a bit, the canine lowered her head back down, get in close and personal with mine as she glowered at me, baring her teeth. "Good… then you can tell me what the hell you're doing here."

My mind raced frantically, Allen's mangled corpse coming to mind as I thought of possible ways out of this. "I… I was sent to come get you." I blurted out… it was the first thing that came to mind, even though it probably wasn't the smartest thing to say… although, indirectly, it was kind of true.

"By who? Are you a cop?" She inquired further as she repositioned her paws uncomfortably on my collar bone, assumingly getting ready to make good on her threat to rip my throat out.

"No no no, not at all… I… Mr. Kirk sent me." I tried. Meanwhile, my hand was slowly inching its way closer to my pocket.

She paused again, narrowing her eyes as she gazed into mine. "…Matthew sent you."

"Yes." I answered with as much fake confidence as I could muster, my fingers wrapping around the handle of my knife, hoping that she would believe me and it wouldn't resort to a fight… after all, I would probably lose.

She stared at me intently, her eyes full of scrutiny as she searched for any evidence of my deceit.

…apparently, she found something.

"You're lying." She snarled at me once again. I didn't even wait to see what she was going to do next (Although I had a pretty good idea). Forgetting about trying to be sneaky about it, I pulled the knife out of my pocket and drove it into her side. I wasn't able to get much power into the stab though and it didn't cause that much damage, but she yelped in pain anyways and it surprised her enough so that I could throw her off of me.

I desperately scrambled to my feet and towards the door, an in attempt to get away. However, that worked even worse for me than it did for Allen. The hell hound was quick, and the knife barely even left a scratch on her, so in a split second, she leapt in between me and my exit, crouched in a fighting stance and ready to pounce.

My feet skidded to a stop and I immediately jumped back, instinctively trying to get into my own fighting stance even though the only time I was ever in any sort of fight was a couple of short little scuffles in high school. All of them were fist fights, no weapons, and I just jumped straight to cheap shots because I didn't want to get hurt. This was nowhere near the same thing, and a swift kick to the balls isn't going to help me when I'm fighting a girl.

I didn't have time to contemplate the best position to protect against a Pokémon though, as it was lunging towards me before I could even think about a plan of action.

The hound wasn't wasting any time, either. With a powerful leap forward, her jaws parted and ready to clamp down on the inside of my shoulder, I only had time to block the oncoming attack with my free arm. It was too little too late by the time I had realized what a mistake that was, as blocking a punch with your arm is deflecting an attack…blocking a _bite_ with your arm is just giving it a new target. I shouted in pain as the dog's large incisors dug into my wrist, barely even having time to focus on _that_ pain before she started yanking it in a ripping motion that suggested she was trying to tear my arm from its socket.

The strength of her tugging forced me to drop to my knees as I started to panic. If she got me all the way on the ground…I wouldn't be getting back up. Blindly slashing out with the blade, I managed to slice a deep gash in the top of her head, getting her to release my arm and jump backwards in shock.

I once again scrambled to my feet, to see the canine hunched over, rubbing furiously at her eyes with her paws. Despite my situation, I smirked, knowing I had just gained an advantage. Head wounds bleed like crazy even if they aren't very deep, and with a rather large one right above both of her eyes…she'd have to continuously wipe it away just to be able to see me.

… be that as it may, she was still in between me and my exit, and regaining her composure, she shot me a scowl that erased any thought I had of getting passed her.

Fighting her head on was still out of the question. Even with my one advantage, I was still no match for her. The only option I had was to run… and unfortunately I had only one direction I could go.

Not waiting for her to be able to strike again, a barreled down the stairwell and into the secret basement behind the wall.

I could tell before I even reached the bottom of the stairs that this was a _horrible _idea. There was no guarantee that there would be another way out, I could barely see two inches in front of my face, and the closer I got to those awful noises the more I expected to see some sort of torture chamber, but it was still my best option. If nothing else, maybe I could confuse her and circle back around.

As I reached the bottom of the stairs, I stuck my hands out in an attempt to make up for my lack of vision, scraping my knife against the wall as I held my injured hand out in front of me to make sure I didn't faceplant into a wall.

Having banged my knees pretty badly when the devil dog tried to yank me to the floor, I found running to be a hard task in itself. Take that and add in the factor that I couldn't see a damn thing, and I knew I was in trouble. Even so, I continued to stumble through the darkness as I heard the footfalls of my attacker behind me.

Fear began to overpower logic at this point and I gave up on trying to use my hands to navigate the dungeon. Instead, I just focused on moving as fast as possible. I was just beginning to wonder just how long this hallway would go when a dim glow illuminated my surroundings. For a moment, I thought that of motion sensor and turned on a light, but the flickering of my shadow against the wall and the sudden increase in temperature I felt behind me told me exactly what was happening.

I just barely had time to press my back against the cold, stone wall of the cave-like basement before a stream of flames shot through the cavern. The heat from the fire scorched licked the front of my body, making me sweat in my gray hoodie. Still, despite the danger it brought, I managed to get a grip on myself and take the advantage to look at my surroundings. The flamethrower ended as it crashed into the dead end I had nearly just barreled into moments ago. If I had kept running for just a second longer, this would already be over.

I pushed the thought to the back of my mind though as I spotted a doorway on the wall directly across from me. From the brief illumination, I could just barely make out the outlines of a few figures in the room, obvious from the noise that was still echoing through the cavern that they were the source. As soon as the attack disappeared (and the light as well), I dove across the floor and into the room across from me, my hand somehow finding the metal door on the other side of the archway and slamming it shut behind me.

The houndoom slammed into the door from the other side and reacting purely on instinct. I pressed both of my hands against it, using all of my weight to keep it sealed shut. A few muffled screams reverberated through the room... and God, it was torturing me not being able to see what the hell was going on in here. However, amidst all the muffled sounds, one was actually quite clear.

"Who... who are you? What are you doing here?" A feminine voice reverberated off the stone walls of this prison cell. It sounded weak... exhausted really. Like she had just woken up from a deep sleep, although I doubt that was the case. However, there was an underlying sense of hope in her voice, probably hoping that I could help her escape this place.

I opened my mouth to answer her, but was caught off guard as the canine on the other side of the wall tried once again to burst through the door. It opened a crack, breaking the metal latch that kept it shut, but i quickly shoved it closed again before she could slip inside. Gritting my teeth, I decided to completely ignore her questions. "Introductions later! I can get you out of here, but not if I'm dead!"

"Unchain me." The women answered, finally realizing the urgency of the situation. "I can help you."

"I can't even see, where the hell are you!?"

"There's a light switch to the left of the door."

I nodded instinctively even though she probably couldn't see me either and shifted my position so that I was propping the door shut with my shoulder, reaching my free hand out and searching for the switch, which I just couldn't seem to find.

...wait...why is the door getting hotter?

"Fuck!" I screamed in pain as the door became somewhat of a giant frying pan; the side of my head which had just brushed against it now stinging from a small burn. The houndoom was trying to burn me out from the other side, and it had worked. It was barely anything, but in my shock I had taken off a bit of my weight from the door, and the she-wolf took her chance to burst through.

This time, the force of her tackling the door sent me sprawling to the ground, my knife skidding across the floor and out of reach. I desperately tried to get to my feet, but before I could, a shriek rang out in the room.

"Roll!" the unseen woman commanded, and I'd be damned if I was going to question her. Instead of trying to stand up like I had planned, I rolled to my side onto my hands and knees, hearing the hound snarl as the canine landed inches away from me in her failed attempt to pin me.

"Now punch!" She ordered. This time, I thought she was insane. Why would I even try to attack against an animal like this. Still, I already knew I wasn't the best fighter, so I took her word for it. Bringing my arms up above my head, I swung them both down where I thought her head would be.

I was a little bit off, but I managed to drive both of my fists into her back, effectively knocking her to the ground if nothing else. Taking my chance, I finally stood up, but apparently, I didn't do as much damage as I had thought.

"She's getting up, backpedal!"

I leapt backwards, almost tripping over my own feet as something, either the houndoom's teeth or her horn, snagged the front of my shirt.

"Now kick."

I lashed my foot out in response and through some sort of luck, the top of my foot slammed against the underside of her muzzle. "How can you even see any of this?" I wondered aloud, not really expecting an answer.

"Doesn't matter, just DUCK!" she screamed in reply. The force of the scream itself seemed to knock me on my ass as I heard the demon dog soar over my head…and the loud thud afterwards told me that she just dove headfirst into a wall. Even she would have to take a few minutes to recover from that, especially if that head wound was still bleeding. If there was ever a chance to do something, this was it.

"Where are you?" I asked, already beginning to make my way to where I thought I heard her voice earlier.

"Over here, at the other side of the room."

"Keep talking." I told her. Still, I was at least heading in the right direction.

"Keep going…you're almost there…stop!" She said when I was directly in front of her, she was apparently lying on the ground and I probably would have stepped on her if she hadn't said anything else. I dropped to my hands and knees, feeling around for her and found…fur?

I blinked in confusion, but it only took me a few seconds to piece it together, as I already knew of this guy's habits with his pet and her fur was matted down by something…maybe blood, but…most likely something else. The guy who runs this place is a twisted one for sure.

However, finding out this was some sort of Pokémon rape dungeon was soon a footnote in my mind as my survival instincts took over again. Immediately, I felt around for her paws and found that the fore legs were bound together with a shackle, as well as the hind legs, but lucky for me, it was held together by a bolt instead of lock. I unscrewed the clamps as fast as I possibly could and just like that, whatever Pokémon had been helping me through this was free.

She sprung to her feet and rushed past me, making good on her promise to help me out as I could hear the beginnings of a brawl. Growls, hisses, and hateful comments were exchanged between the two as I felt completely useless. Stuck in the dark like this...not even able to see what was happening. 

The sound of ripping flesh made me cringe as one of them yelped in pain, and I could only hope it wasn't my friend who was injured. 

_God damn it! ...where's the light switch?_ I thought as I stood up. Before I could even start looking though, the devil dog shot out a fire bolt that hit me square in the chest, igniting my shirt as the flames began to dance around my torso.

I panicked, trying to beat the flames out with my hands before the searing pain in both my fingers and my chest told me it was a horrible idea. My second idea was much more logical, unzipping my hoodie and ripping it off my body as I flung it away. Painful as the experience was, I now had a light; the glow from the burning clothing illuminating the small room.

…If I wasn't too busy fearing for my life, I'm sure I would be deeply disturbed by what I saw… Pokémon, all female, all in some kind of bondage or restraint… some in compromising positions. In the back corner of the room, there were three held in cages, a blaziken, a mightyena, and a chikorita who had nothing more than simple ropes binding them… something that all of them, especially the fire type could easily break out of in a heartbeat. Why they weren't escaping was beyond me. The only ones that were at least trying to fight were a Mienshao, who was strapped to a metal chair with heavy chains, a gag, and had her legs spread apart by shackles that were attached to the wall behind her, and a vaporeon who was being force to present herself, a wooden beam separating her hind legs as wide as they could possibly go as her front paws were strapped to the center of said beam, forcing her head to press against the floor. All the while, a collar on her neck was connected to a metal pole that pulled her tail up so long as she stayed down… which she was kind of forced to do. Even so though, they were struggling with all their might to break free. Those five including the one I had set free, a Persian who was now fighting her heart out against the hell hound.

…and unfortunately losing, by the looks of it. The houndoom had her pinned. Shit! This was not good. I needed… I needed…

My eyes shot over to the vaporeon who was apparently trying to see if she could learn Mean Look as she glared at the horned canine.

…I needed a type advantage.

Now seeing forming a plan of escape in my head –one that might actually work this time- I bolted over to the water type, quickly detatching the metal pole and removing the rope which had served as a gag. I then aimed her head at the houndoom and screamed.

"HYDRO PUMP! NOW!"

Before I even finished my command, a jet of water burst forth from her mouth like I had just turned on a fire hose, hitting the houndoom dead center and sending her crashing into the wall just as she was about to bite down on my ally's neck. The Persian took her chance to get up, the tables turning as it was her turn to pin the hound. I didn't waste times with introductions or explanations, turning to the eeveelution and only needing to know one thing.

"Can you fight?"

"Let me at that bitch!"

…good enough for me. With a bit of effort, I was able to undo the clamps and bolts that had her restrained and she joined the fight. I was more than a little surprised that there was bolts and clamps on all of these things instead of locks, but I guess the owner didn't think anyone would be down here except for him.

Confident that those two could easily win the fight, I moved onto the Mienshao, removing the gag first.

"Are you insane!"

Her voice startled me, causing me to flinch, but I continued to undo the chains around her torso.

"You _want_ to stay strapped to this chair!?" I yelled back.

"Of course not," She explained harshly, gritting her teeth in frustration, "But you need to get out of here before she fucking kills you!"

I mulled over her input as the chains around her best dropped, releasing her arms and back from the chair as I moved on to her leg. "Those two can handle the mutt. It's two against one and one of them has a type advantage. That houndoom is as good as…"

I froze before I finished the sentence.

…dead…she was as good as dead…I needed her alive. I stood up and turned around, about to tell the two of them to ease up, as if they'd listen to me, but before I could even get a word out of my mouth, a pair of paws hit me square in the chest. My head and back crashed into the wall painfully, gashing the back of my head and-I'm pretty sure- giving me a concussion.

My senses were extremely fuzzy from the blow, but it didn't take a genius to figure out that I was tackled by the fiery bitch again, and the blow to my back left me temporary paralyzed, so there wasn't anything stopping her from ripping my jugular from my throat.

…I should have listened to the mienshao.

But, just as soon as I had pounced, I felt the weight leave me along with a hard "Thock" sound, letting me to slump to the floor, my back leaning against the wall as I tried to recover. My guess was the fighting type that I had partially freed just force palmed the bitch in the head…a guess that was confirmed as I felt her paw wrap around my shirt collar and pull me to my feet, pain erupting from my entire upper body as it jerked about.

"We'll handle this! Go and get help!" She commanded me, shoving me toward the door. My legs however wouldn't cooperate, no doubt having something t do with that blow to my spine. I tripped halfway across the room, expecting to land on the floor, but to my surprise, the Persian caught me, stepping in the way of my fall so that I only fell to my knees instead of on my face.

"What's wrong with you?" She asked me, more concerned than angry like the fighting type.

"I… I can't… walk." I managed to sputter out… with all the other aches and pangs in my body I didn't even notice that the wind had been knocked out of me. She made a noise, somewhere between a groan and a whine before leaning into my side.

"Stand up, we'll do this one step at a time."

"But… houndoom…"

"They can handle her, just move." She urged me forward, sounding eerily like a mother urging her child to do something… soft, calm, only a slight urgency… however, that wasn't the reason I was worried.

"No… no you don't-" I didn't have time to argue though, as she started to move forward. Apparently I had been leaning on her a lot more than I had thought, as I wobbled about the minute she started moving, forcing me to take a step and stay with her just so I could stay on my feet. My legs felt like Jello…it was completely pathetic, but I had to rely on her.

"That's it, just step by step… don't look back just keep moving forward" She coaxed me forward calmly, like a mother talking to her child, although there was quite a bit of fear and concern lacing that calm nature. She sensed the urgency of the situation, that was for sure.

With much more effort than it should have taken, I made it out the door, back into the pitch black darkness of the hallway. However, this time I actually had a focal point to head towards, what little light there was from upstairs filtering in from upstairs.

…my God… I was actually going to live through this… how the hell did that happen? Or… that light in the distance means I'm dead and I'm about to go to the hall of origins... I sincerely hope it's the former.

But no… before I knew it we had reached the stairs, nearly tripping over the bottom step as my caught against it. My hand shot out for a railing, which, surprisingly was there. I hadn't checked for one on my way down, too concerned about not dying and all, but using my own upper body strength, I was able to pull myself up step by step instead of having to lean on my feline protector. All the same, I felt her against my side, there in case I was to slip and fall.

I'm surprised she was even bothering to help me. She was free after all, she could easily just run…but I suppose she did owe me for setting her free…nice to see Pokémon have a code of honor, or something of the sorts…or maybe she's just nicer than most.

Step by step, inch by inch, nudge by nudge from the Persian beside me, somehow I reached the top of the stairs, my eyes having to adjust as I stepped forward. I dropped to my knees and rubbed my eyes, feeling like I was safe for the first time even though I should probably get the fuck out of here. I expected the Persian to either keep encouraging me forward or to go back to help her sisters in bonds, but instead, she let me catch my breath, standing guard at the doorway as I did so.

"W-we…" I began to stutter before coughing, a bit of blood coming up with it. To be honest, it didn't scare me. I would be amazed if I didn't after that last blow. My voice finally returning to me, I spoke again, looking over my shoulder at the Persian as she continued her watch. "We can't kill her." I finally said.

Her head snapped back immediately, looking at me like I was out of my mind. "What are you talking about?" She asked, legitimately giving me a chance to explain myself by the looks of it, regardless of how stupid it sounded. I opened my mouth to tell her my situation, or at least a cliffnotes version of it, but was interrupted completely.

"Shit! Overheat!"

"Get the fuck out! GET THE FUCK OUT!"

Before I had time to move or react in any way, the mienshao and vaporeon came bolting out of the doorway, knocking the Persian down in their haste to get away, from what…I could tell from the flickering light that was getting closer and closer to the entrance but had absolutely no time to react.

A torrent of flames erupted from the doorway, completely engulfing the Persian on the floor as well as igniting the remainder of my clothes on fire.

…and from there… it was nothing but pain. I rolled around on the floor, screaming in agony as the fire scorched my skin. Last time, the extra layer of my hoodie protected me, but now, the fire was right up against my skin, charring it and leaving numerous first and second degree burns all over my body.

The pain was just too much… I began to black out and from there, I could only make out a few things as my body went into shock.. Getting blasted by a cold jet of water from the vaporeon, the feeling of being lifted and carried, the sound of police sirens and the flashing red and blue lights…being laid down on the soft, cold grass.

…the last thing I remembered was a green haired figure kneeling over my broken body…and then…nothing.

…

**...am I a horrible person? …probably…**

**Anyhow, that ends the first story arc of Laws and Regulations (about fucking time). Next, we have two interlude chapters, which I have been waiting to write for quite some time, as it will go a bit deeper into Jace's character.**

**This is the first scene I've written that involves action…so…critique please? ^_^**


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